苹果CEO库克公开同性恋身份

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has become the most prominent business leader to say publicly that he is gay.

苹果(Apple)首席执行官蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)成为公开表示自己是同性恋的最出名的企业领导人。

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.

在科技行业面临缺乏多样性的批评之际，库克的声明被活动人士誉为一个转折点，有望加快人们对同性恋群体态度的转变。

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年出任苹果首席执行官的库克在《彭博商业周刊》(Bloomberg Businessweek)上撰文称，他从未否认过自己的性取向，“许多同事”知道他是同性恋，但他承认，自己也从未“公开承认过”。按市值计算，苹果是全球最有价值的公司。

“So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

“因此让我说清楚一下：我为自己是同性恋感到自豪，我认为身为同性恋是上帝给予我的最好的礼物之一。”

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.

库克在支持平等议题方面发出越来越响亮的声音，这些议题包括去年美国最高法院有关同性恋婚姻的裁决，以及拟议中的《就业非歧视法案》(Employment Nondiscrimination Act)，后者将在联邦层面保护男女同性恋、双性恋和变性人在职场中免受歧视。

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.

库克表示，他发布声明是为了帮助“那些对于接受真实的自己感到挣扎的人，或者为那些感到孤独的人带去慰藉，或者是鼓舞人们坚持要求得到平等待遇”，即便这需要牺牲他个人的隐私去“交换”。

“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?’”

他援引民权领袖马丁•路德•金(Martin Luther King)的话写道：“我不认为自己是一名活动人士，但我意识到自己已经从其他人的牺牲中受益匪浅。”金曾表示：“人生最持久和紧迫的问题是：‘你在为他人做些什么？’”

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”.

库克承认，同性恋身份“有时让他感到艰难和不安”，但它也给了自己一张“犀牛皮”，在担任苹果CEO时颇为有用。

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.

其他知名的同性恋企业领导人包括，博柏利(Burberry)的首席执行官克里斯托弗•贝利(Christopher Bailey)，以及长期担任谷歌(Google)高管、并在上月成为白宫首席技术官的梅甘•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.

库克的举动和约翰•布朗(John Browne)形成鲜明对比，后者在2007年因外界对其私生活的指责而辞去英国石油(BP)的首席执行官一职。

He has since become an advocate of gay rights and a critic of homophobia in business.

布朗后来成为一名同性恋支持者，并批评商界对同性恋的憎恶态度。

“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.

他说：“蒂姆•库克决定公开谈论自己的性取向，他带了一个好头，将加快企业世界的改变。”

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.

周一，库克在被列入其家乡阿拉巴马州的名人堂(Alabama Academy of Honor)的时候表示，阿拉巴马州“在平等方面的进步过于缓慢”。阿拉巴马州的居民可能因他们的性取向而被解雇。

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网络的创始人苏基•桑德胡(Suki Sandhu)表示：“几乎很少有企业领导人公开他们的性取向，这似乎很不合理。”专业服务公司安永(EY)的人力资源管理合伙人利斯•宾汉(Liz Bingham)表示，许多人仍担心，出柜将影响他们的就业前景。