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LGBT News New book “The Glass Closet” - being gay in corporate life

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by SaleGayGuy, Jun 22, 2014.

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  1. SaleGayGuy

    SaleGayGuy
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    Hi Folks

    I have just come across reference to a new book “The Glass Closet” by Lord Browne the former CEO of BP that discusses the issue of coming out in corporate life. For those of you who don’t know, Lord Browne was the head of a Fortune 500 company and outed in 2007 by a newspaper.

    His website is http://glasscloset.org/ and has a lot of interesting info in the resource section.

    You can also see a video interview of Lord Browne by UK Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills http://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2014/may/23/scott-mills-lord-browne-coming-out-video

    Sale Gay Guy
     
    #1 SaleGayGuy, Jun 22, 2014
  2. Chip

    Chip
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    Wow. I'll be really interested to get that and read it. There is a classic book, "The Corporate Closet", written in about 1983, that talked about very similar issues: gay men working in corporate america, mostly (in those days) staying closeted.

    I might go back and re-read the first one. It would be interesting to contrast the difference 30 years has made.
     
    #2 Chip, Jun 22, 2014
  3. bingostring

    bingostring
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    Outed by his boyfriend he met on a dating site. The boyfriend used to get so stressed when Tony Blair would come round for dinner...
     
    #3 bingostring, Jun 22, 2014
  4. Mirko

    Mirko
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    It looks to be an interesting read indeed. Even though I haven't read the book, the main argument John Brown makes "whether you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight, it’s better for you, your business and the economy when you bring your authentic self to work," is an argument that I agree with wholeheartedly. From my own experience, being out at work - even just to a few co-workers, makes a difference in the way I work, and how productive I am.

    Thanks for sharing. I'll be reading the book. Interested in learning more about what he has to say.
     
    #4 Mirko, Jun 22, 2014
  5. Tightrope

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    This is entirely situational. Yes, I assume that, in 1983, the closet was almost required.

    Today, it varies by corporate culture. If you work in a large and progressive organization, you can do it. If you are self employed, you can do it. If it's a smaller company or business run by and populated with married folks with kids, it's your coin toss, but I'd suggest avoiding such employers altogether if at all possible.

    My approach is more cautious. I've had a few bad experiences.
     
    #5 Tightrope, Jun 23, 2014
  6. cardiganwearer

    cardiganwearer Guest

    I am always sympathetic to the problems people face when they come out, more so when they are forced out. I am happy to make an exception in the case of Lord Brown.

    He was chief executive of BP in the years leading up to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and therefore ultimately responsible for health and safety on the project. He led a company which was very aggressive indeed to the point where such an accident could happen. It fell to his successor to try to blame the subcontractors, all of whose work had been signed off by BP.

    His fall from grace came about when he tried to get an injunction to stop a former boyfriend selling his story to the press. He lied under oath at the hearing and in his depositions. He was found guilty of contempt of court but given no sentence on the grounds of having lost his job. He lost the job because the board at BP didn't think a perjurer would be an asset.

    Mr Justice Eady who heard the injunction had this to say about him; that he showed a "willingness casually to trash the reputation of Mr Chevalier and to discredit him in the eyes of the court" by alleging the Canadian former IT worker was dependent on drink and drugs and inherently unreliable as a witness and also that he would in future be "careful in taking anything the claimant [Lord Browne] says at face value".

    Browne has since reinvented himself as the man to liberate the upper layers of business, having spent thirty odd years doing nothing to help; a career that was ended by his effort to trash a gay man in court.

    Let no such man be trusted.

    Source
     
    #6 cardiganwearer, Jun 25, 2014
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