Source: FoxBusiness.com, HRC press release, Fortune
ExxonMobil shareholders today voted down a resolution to add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to Exxon’s non-discrimination statement. But the vote today was closer than it has been in previous years.
About 40% of Exxon’s outstanding shares voted in favor of the clause, but it was not enough to send the issue to the Houston-based oil company’s board of directors which is staunchly opposed to the measure.
In a statement today, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said, "ExxonMobil continues to have the dubious distinction of being the only Fortune 50 company that refuses to add sexual orientation and gender identity to their non-discrimination policy, and is stuck in the ever-shrinking minority of businesses that don’t offer domestic partner benefits,"
The percentage of shares voted in favor of the proposal has grown each of the last nine years. This was the first year that the proposed policy has included "gender identity." The favorable vote at this year's meeting represents about 1.74 billion total shares voted in favor of the proposal.
Solmonese said, "It is irresponsible for ExxonMobil to ignore overwhelming shareholder support and not to join the majority of companies that provide equal protections and benefits to all families."
The shareholder resolution has come up every year since 2000, when it got 8.2% approval among shareholders. The percentage that voted in favor of the resolution has grown every year since then, but management of the company has been resisted calls for more tolerant employment policies.
“Our conversations with management never went anywhere,” said Trevor Thomas HRC spokesman.
“Gay and lesbian employees can still be fired for being themselves at Exxon, unfortunately,” Thomas said.
ExxonMobil is the only Fortune 50 company that refuses to write sexual orientation protections into its primary non-discrimination policy, which can be found in the company’s Standards of Business Conduct.
In its statement today, HRC notes that the legacy Mobil Corp.’s equal employment opportunity policy included "sexual orientation," and the company offered domestic partner benefits to its employees. After Mobil's 1999 merger with Exxon, the non-discrimination protection was removed and the domestic partner benefits program closed to new employees.
A total of 435 -- nearly 90 percent -- of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies and 153 – more than 30 percent – include gender identity.
This year's vote in favor of the proposal was higher than that given any of several well-publicized proposals by members of the Rockefeller family who were trying to get the oil giant to focus more on climate change.
Both Mobil and Exxon trace their corporate roots back to the Standard Oil Trust founded by John D. Rockefeller.
The Rockefellers own less than .01% of ExxonMobil shares, but their powerful name and ability to generate bad press have already created problems for management. Last month the family came out publicly with a list of grievances, chief among them fears that the company isn't doing enough to battle global warming or tap new sources of oil.
The company is doing well now, write descendants Peter O'Neill and Neva Rockefeller Goodwin in a recent letter to shareholders, but is "struggling to replace its oil reserves" and isn't doing enough to find new ones. They also argue that the company is ill-prepared for "global policies aimed at curbing carbon dioxide and diversifying energy supplies."
Full article: Exxon Shareholders Reject Gay Rights Resolution | FOXBusiness.com
ExxonMobil Shareholders Show Record Support for Non-Discrimination Policy | HRC press release
ExxonMobil braces for Rockefeller showdown | Fortune