Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to prohibit the LGBTQ+ Pride flag from being flown outside its offices during Pride month in June, prompting backlash from Houston-based employees, Time Magazine reported.
The company updated company guidance on what flags can be displayed outside its offices, banning "external position flags" such as Pride and Black Lives Matter, according to the policy seen by Bloomberg News. In response, members of Exxon's PRIDE Houston Chapter are refusing to represent the company at the city's June 25 Pride celebration.
"Corporate leadership took exception to a rainbow flag being flown at our facilities" last year, Exxon's PRIDE Houston employee group wrote in an email. "PRIDE was informed the justification was centered on the need for the corporation to maintain 'neutrality.'"
Exxon's Pride employee resource group has existed since 2008 and currently has 3,000 members globally. The company's worldwide workforce is about 63,000.
In the Human Rights Campaign's most recent Corporate Equality Index, Exxon Mobil Corp. scored an 85 out of a possible 100.
