“我是同性戀我自豪”,蒂姆·庫克驕傲出柜
Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said he was “proud to be gay” in an essay published early Thursday, becoming by far the most prominent executive of a public company to come out.
本周四早上,蘋果公司首席執(zhí)行官蒂莫西·D·庫克(Timothy D. Cook)發(fā)表文章,稱“我很自豪我是同性戀”,從而成為了迄今最著名的已出柜上市公司高管。
“Let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” Mr. Cook wrote in the essay, published by Bloomberg Businessweek.
“我想在此闡明:我很自豪我是同性戀,我認(rèn)為身為同性戀是上帝賜予我的最好禮物,”庫克在《彭博商業(yè)周刊》(Bloomberg Businessweek)登出的一篇文章中寫道。
Mr. Cook, 53, has never spoken publicly about his sexual orientation in the many years he has worked in the spotlight at Apple.
庫克現(xiàn)年53歲,在蘋果公司引人矚目的位置上工作的很多年中,他從未公開談及過自己的性取向。
In his essay, Mr. Cook also noted that he had spent much of his life trying to keep his personal matters private, which is why he had not previously spoken in public about his sexual orientation.
在這篇文章中,庫克還表示,他長期努力維持自己的個(gè)人隱私,所以之前沒有公開聲明過自己的性取向。
“Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world,” he wrote, “and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.”
“蘋果業(yè)已是全球最受關(guān)注的企業(yè)之一,”他寫道,“我希望人們持續(xù)重點(diǎn)關(guān)注我們的產(chǎn)品,以及我們的客戶利用蘋果產(chǎn)品所實(shí)現(xiàn)的杰出成就。”
While he has never talked about it publicly, Mr. Cook’s sexuality has been a widely open secret in Silicon Valley. In private forums, he has alluded to facing difficulties growing up as a young man in Alabama, where he was raised for much of his childhood. He has said that human rights and dignity are values that need to be acted upon.
雖然庫克以前沒有公開談?wù)撨^自己的性取向,但在硅谷,這其實(shí)是個(gè)非常公開的秘密。在私人論壇里,他提到過自己年輕時(shí),在阿拉巴馬州遇到的困難。庫克童年的大部分時(shí)光都是在那里度過的。他說過,人權(quán)和尊嚴(yán)是需要通過實(shí)際行動(dòng)去維護(hù)的。
With his essay, Mr. Cook becomes the most prominent gay man in the corporate world, joining a very short list of openly gay executives at public companies. He also defies corporate sexual identity norms; 83 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual people hide aspects of their identity at work, according to a Deloitte report.
上市公司高管已經(jīng)出柜的男同性戀者并不多,而隨著這篇文章的發(fā)表,庫克成為了企業(yè)界最著名的男同性戀者。德勤(Deloitte)的一份報(bào)告曾顯示,83%的同性戀和雙性戀者都會(huì)在職場上隱藏自己的性取向;庫克此舉打破了公司里的這種常規(guī)做法。
Silicon Valley, and technology companies in particular, have taken largely progressive stances on gay rights and advancement in the workplace. Companies like Google, Facebook and Apple participate regularly in San Francisco’s annual gay pride parade. And many of these companies, including Twitter, Intel and Apple, offer more inclusive health benefits packages to gay employees and their partners.
對于在職場中維護(hù)同性戀者的權(quán)利和升遷機(jī)會(huì)方面,硅谷已經(jīng)采取了一種相當(dāng)進(jìn)步的態(tài)度,科技公司尤為如此。像谷歌、Facebook和蘋果這樣的公司,通常都會(huì)參加舊金山一年一度的同性戀驕傲游行。很多公司,包括Twitter、英特爾和蘋果,都為同性戀員工及其伴侶提供了更具包容性??的健康福利。
Congrats to 5000 Apple employees/families who attended today’s Pride parade.Inclusion inspires innovation.#applepride pic.twitter.com/4DncX8F6fO
庫克今年6月在Twitter上寫道,“祝賀參加了今天同志游行的5000個(gè)蘋果員工/家庭。包容激發(fā)創(chuàng)新。#applepride” pic.twitter.com/4DncX8F6fO
Activist groups were quick to praise Mr. Cook for his essay, while lauding Apple’s progressive history. “Tim Cook’s announcement today will save countless lives,” the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, said in a statement. “He has always been a role model, but today millions across the globe will draw inspiration from a different aspect of his life.”
活動(dòng)人士團(tuán)體迅速做出反應(yīng),稱贊了庫克的這篇文章,以及蘋果公司一直以來在這方面秉持的進(jìn)步立場。“蒂姆·庫克今日宣布的消息將拯救無數(shù)人的生活,”美國最大的女同性戀、男同性戀、雙性戀和變性者(以下簡稱LGBT)民權(quán)組織“人權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)”(Human Rights Campaign)在一份聲明中說。“他向來都是一個(gè)榜樣,但今天,全球數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的人們將從他生活中的另一個(gè)方面獲得啟迪。”
As Apple’s chief executive, he has publicly pushed for marriage equality in its workplace, and had consistently enacted progressive policies to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates to work for the company.
作為蘋果公司的首席執(zhí)行官,庫克曾公開在公司里推動(dòng)婚姻平權(quán)活動(dòng),并且一貫推行開明的政策,鼓勵(lì)LGBT求職者來蘋果工作。
Apple has publicly supported a workplace equality bill in California, site of the company’s headquarters, and spoke against a bill passed in Arizona which Apple said discriminated against the gay community.
蘋果公開支持其總部所在地加州的一項(xiàng)職場平權(quán)法案,并對亞利桑那州通過的一項(xiàng)法案表示了反對,因?yàn)樵摴菊J(rèn)為,這項(xiàng)法案含有歧視同??性戀群體的內(nèi)容。
Mr. Cook recently gave a speech in Alabama, in which he denounced his home state’s history of human rights and addressed its record of inequality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. “As a state, we took too long to take steps toward equality, and once we began, our progress was too slow,” he said at the event, where he was inducted into Alabama’s Academy of Honor, the highest praise the state can give one of its natives.
庫克最近在阿拉巴馬州發(fā)表講話時(shí),批評(píng)了家鄉(xiāng)的人權(quán)狀況和LGBT人士遭受的不平等待遇。“作為一個(gè)州,我們遲遲沒有采取平權(quán)措施,而且開始采取這些措施之后,我們的進(jìn)展又太緩慢了,”他在成為阿拉巴馬州榮譽(yù)學(xué)院(Academy of Honor)成員的儀式上說。進(jìn)入該學(xué)院是阿拉巴馬州對當(dāng)?shù)厝私o予的最高褒獎(jiǎng)。
“Too slow on equality for African-Americans. Too slow on interracial marriage, which was only legalized 14 years ago. And still too slow on equality for the L.G.B.T. community,” he said, noting that workers in Alabama can still be fired based on their sexual orientation.
“非裔美國人平權(quán)進(jìn)展太緩慢了。直到14年前才變得合法的跨種族婚姻,進(jìn)展太緩慢了。LGBT社區(qū)的平權(quán)進(jìn)展也太緩慢了,”他表示,并指出在阿拉巴馬州,雇員仍然可能會(huì)因?yàn)樽约旱男匀∠蚨獾浇夤汀?/p>
Arthur D. Levinson, chairman of Apple’s board, issued this statement, saying, “Tim has our wholehearted support and admiration in making this courageous personal statement.”
蘋果董事長亞瑟·D·萊文森(Arthur D. Levinson)針對文章發(fā)表了一個(gè)聲明,他說:“我們?nèi)娜獾刂С炙①澷p他發(fā)表這則個(gè)人聲明的勇氣。”
Mr. Levinson added: “His decision to speak out will help advance the cause of equality and inclusion far beyond the business world. On behalf of the board and our entire company, we are incredibly proud to have Tim leading Apple.”
萊文森還說:“他公開宣布出柜的決定,有助于把平等和包容事業(yè)推動(dòng)到遠(yuǎn)比商界更廣闊的領(lǐng)域。我代表董事會(huì)和整個(gè)公司表示,我們非常自豪是由蒂姆來領(lǐng)導(dǎo)蘋果。“
In the essay, Mr. Cook cited Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose framed photos are on his office wall, as his inspiration for publishing his essay on Thursday.
在這篇文章中,庫克提到了羅伯特·肯尼迪(Robert F. Kennedy)和牧師小馬丁·路德·金博士(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.),說他們是他本周四發(fā)表這篇文章的靈感來源。兩人的照片都掛在庫克辦公室的墻上。