#lord browne

[bookreviewsrus]

The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business by John Browne

Dates - 12th September

Book Number of 2015 - 54 of 60

Synposis -

Part memoir and part social criticism, The Glass Closet addresses the issue of homophobia that still pervades corporations around the world and underscores the immense challenges faced by LGBT employees.In The Glass Closet, Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP, seeks to unsettle business leaders by exposing the culture of homophobia that remains rampant in corporations around the world, and which prevents employees from showing their authentic selves.Drawing on his own experiences, and those of prominent members of the LGBT community around the world, as well as insights from well-known business leaders and celebrities, Lord Browne illustrates why, despite the risks involved, self-disclosure is best for employees—and for the businesses that support them. Above all, The Glass Closet offers inspiration and support for those who too often worry that coming out will hinder their chances of professional success.

My thoughts -

It is two weeks since, I read this book and I cannot make up my mind on it. Not so much because of what John Browne wrote or the style in which he wrote it, but because, I have been struggling to reconcile what he wrote and the message that he was trying to give about being out and proud along with the examples that he used, to illustrate his points. 

Moreover I have been thinking about how much of his advice should I be taking in my own life, which is why I think I am torn on the book itself. 

What is missing from this manifesto is a clear action plan, you get the autobiographical glimpse of John Browne’s life and those of who he chooses to profile, then at the end there is a lukewarm manifesto for change and no clear answer to his own question as to why coming out of the glass closet at work is a good thing.

Maybe the clearest thing that came out of reading this book on the bus to Dublin was that it was a reminder as to how my own personal prejudice shape the way I view what I am reading. Maybe you need to read this for yourself and make up your own mind. 

Would I recommend it -Yes

[biscuitsarenice]

"She knew that when times get tough minorities are put upon and are singled out.”

Lord Browne, ex CEO of BP and gay activist talking about his mother an Auschwitz survivor.

[artyms-blog]

Politics at the Tate

In light of the news that we are giving our Territories of Practice presentations at the Tate gallery, I've had to ask myself how this fits with my own political views. Several issues have arisen, the first being oil giant BP's long-standing sponsorship. The group 'Liberate Tate' have staged performances every year since 2010 in protest against Tate's partnership with a company famously responsible for exploiting and polluting the environment (remember Deepwater Horizon?). The performances have included a naked man covered in oil, and a giant wind-turbine blade, which activists delivered to the Tate.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/apr/24/liberate-tate-arts-bp

The other elephant in the room is Tate Chairman Lord Browne, who's review of student tuition fees led to cuts in government grants and massive increases in student debt. A student protest against the funding cuts was staged at the Tate Britain during the 2010 Turner Prize awards ceremony. A Tate spokesperson was quoted as saying "There's a protest by about 30 students here against threatened government cuts to arts education funding. We understand that their protest is not directed at Tate." It seems pretty obvious that the protest was directed at the Tate and in particular, Lord Browne.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11519642

So, in light of all this how do we as students, particularly if like me you care about environmental issues, handle such a conflict of interests? If a protest was staged what form might it take? Covering yourself in oil is getting cliched. Another option might be to mention Liberate Tate as part of our presentation. I personally feel that it's important to acknowledge that there are political issues at stake, even if we choose not to take sides in a debate.

[addictedtovanity]

Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP, is urging companies to do more to end discrimination against homosexuals.

(Lord Browne quit as head of BP in 2007 when details of his personal life were revealed)

Speaking at the launch of Connect Out, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network set up by Arup, the engineering and design consultants, he said: "My sense is that the business world remains more intolerant of homosexuality than other worlds such as the legal profession, the media and the visual arts. I am one of a handful of publicly gay people to have run a FTSE 100 company.

"In some industries, the situation is particularly bad. Among the many people I know in private equity, where I now work, fewer than 1% are openly gay."

He therefore wants "leaders in companies, and not just in human resources" to "think about inclusion in every decision they take". He says: "It comes down to a simple maxim - don't do anything that excludes people."

And he feels that change requires "rigorous performance measurement", the establishment of "concrete targets".

Lord Browne, who has never before spoken publicly about sexuality in the workplace, says it can be what he describes as "the smallest things" that can discourage gay people from being open with their colleagues about their sexuality.

"It is things like homophobic jokes that you somehow get used to, but never accept. Or it's the conversational assumptions about spouses and children. Perhaps, even, it's the games of golf at the weekend."

It was not until the end of his 41-year career at BP that he came out. Looking back on it, he says: "Hiding my sexuality did make me unhappy and, in the end, it didn't work. People guessed, and it was only a matter of time before it came out. I realise now that the people we dealt with certainly knew I was gay. Putin had files on everybody. But at the time I was trapped by the fear of exposure."

He goes on: "In fact I was trapped for most of my adult life, unable to reveal who I was to the world. I led a double-life of secrecy, and of deep isolation, walled off from those closest to me."

Just over five years ago, Lord Browne quit as BP's chief executive in painful and humiliating circumstances. He admitted that he had lied to a court about the circumstances in which he had met a former boyfriend.

He told me, when I interviewed him on Tuesday, that he had got so used to lying about his sexuality that he didn't think through what he was doing when he misled the court.

Lord Browne points out that when he first realised he was gay, in 1960 at boarding school, homosexuality was illegal, though the law was abolished when he went to Cambridge.

He says: "After Cambridge, when I joined BP as a graduate, it was immediately obvious to me that it was unacceptable to be gay in business and most definitely the oil business. It was a very macho and sometimes homophobic environment; I felt I had to conform."

Also, he did not want to upset his Jewish mother, who had been in Auschwitz: "My mother, whom I dearly loved, rejected any discussion of my sexuality. With her background of being persecuted she was sure that the same would happen to me."

Lord Browne believes the UK has a duty to promote sexual and gender equality internationally.

"Homosexuality remains illegal in more than 70 countries. In seven countries, it can carry the death penalty. That injustice is primarily a British export, shipped abroad in the days of the empire. In my view, we should be working overtime to correct it."