Thursday, 27 February 2025

Deadline: Warner Bros. Discovery Drops Diversity & Equity Language Amid DEI Rollbacks – “Our Overarching Work In This Space Will Now Be Referred To As Inclusion”

Story from Deadline:

Following Paramount Global yesterday, Disney a few weeks ago and a rush of tech and other corporate backtracking on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery said it is making a few changes to its policy including dropping references to diversity and equity.

“Our overarching work in this space will now be referred to as Inclusion,” the company said in a memo to staff today obtained by Deadline. “Making this change better aligns our language with our focus throughout our company, in our industry, and across our content.”

It said Warner Bros. Discovery is “updating the language we use to ensure the intent and impact of our actions are clear; you will see this new approach being updated on wbd.com as well as on our internal channels”.

But, it noted, “Our success absolutely depends on having a team that’s truly diverse, reflects all perspectives, and has a culture where our employees feel valued and respected.

These have always been our values and that won’t ever change,” said the memo from Jennifer Remling and Asif Sadiq, respectively Chief People & Culture Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery.

They said a review of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives was unveiled at Town Hall Hall in January.

Companies across industries have been scaling back or shuttering the programs, studios and language in response to an assault on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by President Donald Trump and his administration manifest in executive orders, and investigations and social media blitz.

© 2025 Deadline.