The O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) released an investigation video revealing Senior Vice President and Team Lead with 20th Television – The Walt Disney Company, Michael Giordano, saying that the company does not hire white men.
Giordano told the undercover OMG reporter, “Certainly, there have been times where, you know, there’s no way we’re hiring a white male for this.”
He added that sometimes that sentiment is spoken bluntly, where the company would say, “There’s no way we’re hiring a white male for this role.”
At another point during the discussion with the undercover journalist, Giordano admitted that Disney believes there may be an financial incentive to add diverse characters to its productions.
“I think there’s certainly a belief that it’s just good for society and they know. But there’s also a belief that we’re gonna make more money if we appeal to a wider variety of people, and it’s a good thing,” he said. “We have shareholders too, you know, and so diversity helps with that.”
He added that diversity is a “focus on every show and I’m sure the movies too, though I don’t deal with that side of it.”
Diversity initiatives are so important for Disney that it looked over a qualified candidate for a job position because they “didn’t look black enough.”
The half-black candidate would have been unable to “appear a certain way” in meetings, Giordano said.
Giordano noted that he feels he is unable to move up in the company because he is white.
Discussing his ability to move up in the company, Giordano said that while he is “sort of well prepared for it” and “well-positioned for it,” he is a white male who is unlikely to receive a promotion.
He added that some Disney employees in HR have told him that the company is “not considering any white males,” later admitting that he believes there may be a discrimination lawsuit in the future.
“It kind of feels like where…at some point there’s going to be a lawsuit,” he stated. “That’s kind of how it feels.”
