Disney Invests Millions in Gender Equality Initiative

Disney has announced some huge news regarding their advocacy for gender equality. The Walt Disney Company has outwardly been an ally for the women movement, but this recent investment shows that they are willing to put money behind their words.

Disney Joins First-of-Its-Kind Initative

The Walt Disney Company has just made a massive contribution towards gender equality. Fans are overjoiced to see the company invest in the future of women in such a big way.

Credit: Sports Business Journal

Disney has announced a multimillion dollar investment to promote equality in sports coverage. The Walt Disney Company will collaborate with Ally Financial Inc. to create more opportunities for women’s sports. This relationship with include a media investment of more than 90% focused towards featurng women’s sports on platforms like ESPN and SportCenter. Kicking off this new initiative, Disney and Ally will also become sponsors of the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference.

For too long, women’s sports have been an afterthought when it comes to media coverage. Most of the previous media investments for women’s sports treats them as an add-on to men’s sport media packages. This new initiative is something that has never been done before.

Credit: Sports Business Journal

The new media package from Ally and Disney was conceived last year. The two companies collaborated on a new sports package that would feature 50% men’s media and 50% women’s media. Andrea Brimmer, who is the chief marketing and public relations officer at Ally, shared her excitement about the initiative.

Ally and Disney Form an Exciting Relationship

Brimmer says, “The roadblocks we kept running into are that women’s sports are generally sold as part of a men’s package or as an add-on, and with an already scarce landscape locked up through category exclusivity, it made it nearly impossible to reach our internal investment goals. We pushed all parties involved to get creative. Disney and ESPN were willing to dig deep with us to think in fresh ways to buy women’s media directly and create opportunities where there weren’t any.”

Credit: The Business Journals

It is clear that both of the companies are thrilled to see this initiative begin, and they hope the fans are excited as well. This collaboration is Disney’s way of proving that they are committed to equality as they have said in the past. Rita Ferro, the president of Disney Advertising explained, “For nearly three decades, we have been intentional in prioritizing and spotlighting the accomplishments and stories surrounding women’s sports. We are proud that brands like Ally are joining us as we level the playing field and help build a future where sports investments are truly equitable.”

Both parties are excited to begin their work. They encourage sports and Disney lovers everywhere to tune in to more women’s sports coverage this season.