Dibeyendu Ganguly, my colleague at The Economic Times, has just done a long interview with Lord John Browne, the ex-CEO of British Petroleum, on gay rights and the need for coming out in the workplace. Browne wasn't out during his career in BP, but it was well known that he was gay and he didn't particularly try to hide it. A gay friend who used to work in BP says that it was well known and not seen as a big deal, even though this was the supposedly super macho industry of petroleum. But Browne's sexuality did cost him his job, not directly, but indirectly because he lied when stories surfaced about his boyfriend having once been an escort who worked at a website which catered to rich gay men looking for discreet, paid partners. Browne claimed they had met by chance, but the truth about the website came out and, as often happens, the attempt to cover up was seen as worse than the actual fact, and he had to resign. The positive side of this is that being forced out like that made Browne introspect and think about how being forced to be closeted had adversely affected even someone as successful as him, and the extent of problems it caused and the waste for organisations. He has now written a book (also published in India) called The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good for Business. The book is well worth reading, but don't miss out on this very candid and revealing interview: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/corporate-dossier/ex-bp-ceo-john-browne-champions-lgbt-rights-at-the-workplace/articleshow/40267489.cms http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/corporate-dossier/ex-bp-ceo-john-browne-champions-lgbt-rights-at-the-workplace/articleshow/40267489.cms
g_b John Browne on the problems of the closet
vg...@yahoo.co.uk [gay_bombay] Wed, 20 Aug 2014 11:06:07 -0700
