蘋果CEO庫克公開同性戀身份
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has become the most prominent business leader to say publicly that he is gay.
蘋果(Apple)首席執行官蒂姆•庫克(Tim Cook)成爲公開表示自己是同性戀的最出名的企業領導人。His announcement was hailed by activists as a turning point that could accelerate the change in attitudes towards the gay community at a time when the tech industry faces criticism over its lack of diversity.
在科技行業面臨缺乏多樣性的批評之際，庫克的聲明被活動人士譽爲一個轉折點，有望加快人們對同性戀羣體態度的轉變。
Mr Cook, who took the helm of the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation in 2011, wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek that he had never denied his sexuality and “plenty of colleagues” were aware of it, but accepted that he had never “publicly acknowledged it either”.
2011年出任蘋果首席執行官的庫克在《彭博商業週刊》(Bloomberg Businessweek)上撰文稱，他從未否認過自己的性取向，“許多同事”知道他是同性戀，但他承認，自己也從未“公開承認過”。按市值計算，蘋果是全球最有價值的公司。
“So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
“因此讓我說清楚一下：我爲自己是同性戀感到自豪，我認爲身爲同性戀是上帝給予我的最好的禮物之一。”He has become increasingly vocal in his support for equality issues, including on the US Supreme Court’s gay marriage rulings last year and the proposed Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would provide federal protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people against discrimination at work.
庫克在支持平等議題方面發出越來越響亮的聲音，這些議題包括去年美國最高法院有關同性戀婚姻的裁決，以及擬議中的《就業非歧視法案》(Employment Nondiscrimination Act)，後者將在聯邦層面保護男女同性戀、雙性戀和變性人在職場中免受歧視。Mr Cook said that he made the announcement to help others who “might be struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality”, even though that came as a “trade-off” to his own personal privacy.
庫克表示，他發佈聲明是爲了幫助“那些對於接受真實的自己感到掙扎的人，或者爲那些感到孤獨的人帶去慰藉，或者是鼓舞人們堅持要求得到平等待遇”，即便這需要犧牲他個人的隱私去“交換”。“I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others,” he wrote, citing Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
他援引民權領袖馬丁•路德•金(Martin Luther King)的話寫道：“我不認爲自己是一名活動人士，但我意識到自己已經從其他人的犧牲中受益匪淺。”金曾表示：“人生最持久和緊迫的問題是：‘你在爲他人做些什麼？’”Mr Cook admitted that being gay had been “tough and uncomfortable at times” but said it had “ also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple”.
庫克承認，同性戀身份“有時讓他感到艱難和不安”，但它也給了自己一張“犀牛皮”，在擔任蘋果CEO時頗爲有用。Other high-profile gay business leaders include Christopher Bailey, chief executive of Burberry; and Megan Smith, a long-serving Google executive who last month became the White House’s chief technology officer.
其他知名的同性戀企業領導人包括，博柏利(Burberry)的首席執行官克里斯托弗•貝利(Christopher Bailey)，以及長期擔任谷歌(Google)高管、並在上月成爲白宮首席技術官的梅甘•史密斯(Megan Smith)。Mr Cook’s move contrasts with John Browne, who resigned as chief executive of oil company BP in 2007 over allegations about his private life.
庫克的舉動和約翰•布朗(John Browne)形成鮮明對比，後者在2007年因外界對其私生活的指責而辭去英國石油(BP)的首席執行官一職。He has since become an advocate of gay rights and a critic of homophobia in business.
布朗後來成爲一名同性戀支持者，並批評商界對同性戀的憎惡態度。“By deciding to speak publicly about his sexuality, Tim Cook has become a role model and will speed up changes in the corporate world,” he said.
他說：“蒂姆•庫克決定公開談論自己的性取向，他帶了一個好頭，將加快企業世界的改變。”On Monday, as he was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, Mr Cook said the state had taken “too long to take steps toward equality”. Alabama residents can be fired because of their sexuality.
週一，庫克在被列入其家鄉阿拉巴馬州的名人堂(Alabama Academy of Honor)的時候表示，阿拉巴馬州“在平等方面的進步過於緩慢”。阿拉巴馬州的居民可能因他們的性取向而被解僱。Suki Sandhu, founder of the Outstanding in Business network, said: “It seems crazy that so few business leaders are open about their sexuality.” Liz Bingham, a managing partner for talent at EY, the professional services firm, has said many people still fear that coming out will affect their job prospects.
Outstanding in Business網絡的創始人蘇基•桑德胡(Suki Sandhu)表示：“幾乎很少有企業領導人公開他們的性取向，這似乎很不合理。”專業服務公司安永(EY)的人力資源管理合夥人利斯•賓漢(Liz Bingham)表示，許多人仍擔心，出櫃將影響他們的就業前景。
