Kaylie Beacham FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(678) 520-3543
kbeacha2@students.kennesaw.edu

Fortune 500 Entertainment Companies to be Assessed for Their Diversity

Within Their Top Executive Positions

KENNESAW, Ga. (January 29, 2023) — Today, the Institute for Relationships, Equality,
Inclusion and Diversity (IREID), released a new report indicating that some Fortune 500
entertainment companies lacked both gender and diversity representation in their top corporate
executive positions.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Walt Disney, Comcast, News Corp, Paramount, Dish Network
and Fox News were all assessed by cross referencing their diversity, equity and inclusion
statements with the percentages of female and people of color within their top corporate
executive positions.

After looking at the top eight positions from each of the companies top executive positions, it
was found that Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery had 50-50 representation from both women
and people of color within their leadership teams. As for the other companies, representation
from women and people of color was less than 30%. The top three positions of each of these
eight companies were held by Caucasian individuals.

Each of these companies had detailed diversity, equity and inclusion statements that explained
their thoughts on inclusion in the workspace. Many of these statements highlighted that their
workspace facilitates a diverse group of individuals and values different perspectives to enhance
the viewer’s experience. All these companies talked about having an inclusive environment for
not only their employees, but for their audience as well.

“We are glad to see that there is some movement in gender diversity in some companies, but we
are highly disappointed to see that these top organizations’ executive positions do not align with
the statements they made though their diversity, equity and inclusion statements,” said Dr. Justin
Pettigrew.

These executive-level leadership positions and diversity, equity and inclusion statements can all
be accessed through each of the companies’ websites.

The Institute for Relationships, Equality, Inclusion and Diversity (IREID) at Kennesaw State
University in Kennesaw, Georgia was started in 2018, and is dedicated to research and action
that helps to advance DE&I in businesses and organizations throughout the country. For more
information, visit www.ireid.edu.
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