“And now to be able to take a different stance and backtrack now means that what they had said was lip service. “Exxon Mobil created a situation where they said that they had made a commitment to more equity and inclusion,” Ferraz said. Thanks in part to social media, Ferraz said, a corporation's decision to reverse course and withdraw public displays of support for a marginalized community won’t go unnoticed. “Now that the hysteria around that has died down a little bit and people have gone back to normal ways of operating, people are also wanting to go back to the normal ways that they had been excluding certain marginalized communities.” “It seems as if a lot of organizations – especially in industries that generate a lot of capital like oil and gas or technology – first came out with a statement in support of marginalized communities,” after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Ferraz said. President of Houston-based Public Relations firm Thirty6Five Christina Ferraz said they were not surprised by Exxon Mobil's banning of the rainbow flag in part because it's a midterm election year.
The political climate and any upcoming elections likely contribute to a business' decision to take a public stance. Too often, firms offer very general, platitudinous values that are so vague that when tested they fall apart.” It is hard work to define them and even harder to apply them. These values preference certain behaviors and dispreference others. They are what I know I can depend upon you for. “They are what you stand for, what you will fight for. “The best thing a firm can do is have some core values it bases decisions on,” said John Daly, professor at University of Texas-Austin’s Moody College of Communications. “Given Exxon’s interests, allying with conservatives on this issue is both a political and a business decision.”Ĭompanies hope that their publicly stated values will attract a broader workforce and appeal to customers, Rottinghaus said, but taking sides on social issues will alienate some as well. “Exxon’s flip might be in reaction to backlash among Republican lawmakers about so-called ‘woke’ companies chiming in on public social issues,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, Political Science Professor at the University of Houston. In retaliation, the Florida Legislature stripped Disney of its self-government status in and around the theme parks.īoth situations point to challenges companies often face when taking a stand on a social or political issue, and how that decision can influence investment and public opinion.ĬHRIS TOMLINSON: Don’t do like Disney, oppose Texas’s anti-LGBT laws now The company had earlier declined to take a public stance. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here.Įxxon’s decision comes after Disney opposed a new Florida law in March that essentially bans discussions of sexual orientation in schools. We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. “Not easy, not always comfortable, but necessary.” Chris Martin, a former Exxon employee and former president of the company’s LGBTQ PRIDE group, on LinkedIn. “Inclusion isn’t about the comfort of the majority, it’s about supporting, listening to, and ultimately incorporating the views and voices that have been suppressed for way too long,” wrote J. Instead Exxon appears to be rejecting rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workers, a former employee says.
The flags are directly related to our business and company support of our ERGs, including PRIDE for LBGTQ+ employees.”Įxxon’s LGBTQ employee resource group was started in 2008 and has more than 3,000 members worldwide, according to the company. “It is a long standing practice at our facilities around the world that ERG flags can be flown during signature months.
“We support the display of flags and banners with employee resource group (ERG) logos,” said Tracey Gunnlaugsson, Exxon's vice president of Human Resources, in a statement. Publicly, the company says the updated flag protocol is meant to clarify use of the company branded flag.