The Pride symbolism, which creates rainbow highlights, could be an unwanted item if spotted at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. NASA Watch reports that employees of the organization have been banned from displaying LGBT symbols on themselves or in the workplace. The step is part of changes related to new executive orders from Donald Trump’s administration.
The new guidance not only relates to Pride symbols, but also to other diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. Employees are informed of the closure of their respective DEIA offices, and administrative penalties are promised for non-compliance.
Reaction to the ban
Members of Congress Zoe Lofgren and Valerie Foushee strongly criticized the changes, calling them a suppression of free speech and a violation of employee rights. In their statement, they emphasized that such innovations cannot be left unpunished.
“This is an attack on the humanity of NASA employees and a violation of their rights,” Lofgren and Foushee noted. They also accused Trump and the president’s adviser, Elon Musk, of implementing “bias politics” in Washington.
Removal of information and resources
Against this change, NASA removed pages on diversity, women in STEM, and support organizations from its official website. In particular, the resources of the Rainbow Alliance Advisory Group (RAAG), which previously helped create an inclusive environment for LGBT employees, have disappeared.
The official NASA Glenn account in June 2024 published a post about RAAG as a group that “advocates for the LGBT community. However, this information has also been removed.
Other changes in the agency
In addition to banning Pride symbols, the new rules affected a wide range of aspects of NASA’s work. Removed employee profiles that emphasize diversity, and introduced a restriction on the use of pronouns in corporate email. According to one employee, the organization can automatically remove pronouns from email signatures.
These measures are generating significant backlash both among NASA employees and in the broader community. How newly elected President Trump’s conservative approach will end up and what impact it will have on the atmosphere in the organization, time will tell.
Earlier we reported on how NASA was urged to rename the James Webb telescope.
According to Space
