 Throughout my professional life, I’ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.
At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to today.
For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.
While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.
Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.
The world has changed so much since I was a kid. America is moving toward marriage equality, and the public figures who have bravely come out have helped change perceptions and made our culture more tolerant. Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.
I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone 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, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.
I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it. I’ve made Apple my life’s work, and I will continue to spend virtually all of my waking time focused on being the best CEO I can be. That’s what our employees deserve—and our customers, developers, shareholders, and supplier partners deserve it, too. Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race, or gender. I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I’m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.
The company I am so fortunate to lead has long advocated for human rights and equality for all. We’ve taken a strong stand in support of a workplace equality bill before Congress, just as we stood for marriage equality in our home state of California. And we spoke up in Arizona when that state’s legislature passed a discriminatory bill targeting the gay community. We’ll continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.
When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.
苹果CEO蒂姆·库克
凤凰科技讯 纵观我的职业生涯，我努力保持自己的基本隐私。我出身卑微，不希望吸引注意力。苹果已经是全球最受关注的企业之一，我喜欢专注于产品以及与客户利用这些产品所取得的非凡成就。 同时，我也深信着马丁·路德·金(Martin Luther King)的那句名言：“生活中最持久而迫切的问题是--你在为他人做什么。”我常常问自己这个问题，并明白我对个人隐私的追求一直阻碍我做更重要的事情。 多年来，我对很多人公开了我的性取向。苹果的许多同事都知道我是一个同性恋，但是他们对待我的方式似乎没有什么不同。当然，我很幸运能够在一家热爱创造力、创新，并且知道只有包容员工不同点才能蓬勃发展的公司工作。并不是每个人都能如此幸运。 尽管我从不否认我的性取向，但是我也从未公开承认过这一点，直到今天。所以我声明：我为自己是同性恋而自豪，我将身为同性视为上帝给予我的最棒的礼物。 身为一名同性恋让我更深地理解到作为少数人之一的意义，让我知道了其他少数群体每天需要面对的挑战。它让我感同身受，丰富了人生。有时候，同性恋身份让我感到艰难和不舒适，但也给予了我自信，走自己的路，克服逆境和偏执。它还给了我一张“犀牛皮”，并在我担任苹果CEO后派上用场。 和我孩提时相比，世界已经发生了太多变化。美国人正走向婚姻平等，公众人物勇敢地站出来帮助改变人们对同性恋的看法，让我们的文化更具包容性。然而，很多国家的法律依然允许雇主仅以性取向为由解雇员工，不少地方的房东可以驱逐同性恋房客，禁止同性恋看望生病的伴侣，继承他们的遗产。有不计其数的人，特别是孩子，因为他们的性取向而每天面对恐惧和虐待。 我不认为自己是一个同性恋活跃分子，但我意识到已经从其他人所付出的牺牲中受益匪浅。所以，如果让人知道苹果CEO是名同性恋就能帮助那些迷失自己性别的人，或者为那些感到孤独的人带去慰藉，鼓励人们坚持平等，那么值得我用自己的隐私去交换。 我承认，这不是一个容易的选择。隐私对我来说依旧重要，我想要保护自己的一些隐私。我已经为苹果的工作贡献了一生，并继续会将几乎所有可用时间投入到成为最好CEO上去。这是我们的员工应得的，也是我们的客户、开发者、股东以及供应商合作伙伴应得的。社会的一些进步表明，我们不能仅以一个人的性取向、种族和性别来衡量这个人。我是一名工程师、别人的叔叔、自然爱好者、健身狂、美国南方人的儿子、体育迷，并且还有很多其他身份。我希望人们尊重我的意愿，让我专注于自己最适合，能够为我带来欢乐的工作。 我很幸运能够领导这样一家公司，它长期以来一直主张人权和一切平等。我们在国会强烈支持职场平等法案，就像在我们的公司所在地加州支持婚姻平等一样。当亚利桑那州立法机构通过了针对同性恋群体的歧视性法案时，我们站出来抗议。我们将继续为我们的价值观而奋斗，我相信这家伟大公司的任何CEO，不论种族、性别或性取向，都会作出同样的决定。我自己将继续主张所有人一切平等。 (责任编辑：IT) |