Ron DeSantis of Florida over a new state law, officially known as “Parental Rights in Education” - or, to its critics, “Don’t Say Gay.” The measure prohibits classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades. Disney, long quiet on such matters, has been in a fight with Gov. The decision, first reported by Bloomberg News, came as corporations have increasingly been pressed to be more outspoken on cultural and political issues. Our flag isn’t just a visual representation of our identities.
The Human Rights Campaign, an organization that works to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, criticized the company for the policy, saying on Twitter: “There’s no such thing as ‘neutrality’ when it comes to our rights. “While they may say nobody has lost anything, the symbolism is unmistakable,” he added. “I’m also told that the employee resource groups were consulted only in a perfunctory way regarding this matter, based on momentary discomfort with displaying a symbol of open-mindedness and support for long-suppressed voices,” he said. Tasked by Harvey Milk, a historic figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights, to create a flag for the queer community, Baker created a rainbow flag with eight different colors. Baker was inspired in his design by the celebrations for America’s. Gilbert Pride Flag, the flag that started it all It was created in 1977 by Gilbert Baker, an artist, activist, and openly gay military veteran. It was designed by gay artist and activist Gilbert Baker when his friend Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay elected official in California, asked him to design a symbol for the LGBTQ community. Chris Martin, a former employee who used to head the resource group, said that a different flag featuring the Exxon logo on a rainbow background “was flown at many company locations last year without question” but that he had been told that approval to display that flag had been revoked “without explanation.” The Gilbert Baker Pride Flag was the first-ever rainbow pride flag. That logo has been flown at offices and is used on T-shirts that employees wear at Pride parades.Ĭurrent Exxon employees declined to comment.
employees includes bubbles filled with several colors around the word PRIDE. The logo for the company’s employee resource group for L.G.B.T. “The flags are directly related to our business and company support of our E.R.G.s.” flags can be flown during signature months,” Tracey Gunnlaugsson, vice president of human resources at Exxon Mobil, said in a statement. “It is a longstanding practice at our facilities around the world that E.R.G. Workers can display the pride flag and representations of other groups like Black Lives Matter on other areas of the company’s properties, including on lawns or in digital spaces. The new policy allows only government flags and those representing Exxon Mobil and its employee resource groups, which are employee-led affinity organizations that are generally blessed by employers. Exxon Mobil will no longer allow banners of outside organizations on its flagpoles, angering some employees who in the past had flown a rainbow pride flag.