“I wish I had been brave enough to come out earlier during my tenure as chief executive of BP. I regret it to this day. I know that if I had done so I would have made more of an impact for other gay men and women. It is my hope that the stories in this book will give some of them the courage to make an impact of their own.”—John Browne
Today gay men and women in the Western world enjoy greater acceptance and more legal protection than ever before. Yet an alarming number of businessmen and women choose to remain closeted at work. In The Glass Closet, John Browne, the former chief executive of BP, argues that whether you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight, it’s better for you and your business when you bring your authentic self to work.
Browne draws on the latest research, his own experience as a closeted gay man in the oil industry and interviews with gay and lesbian leaders to expose the lingering culture of homophobia in corporations around the world, and to give courage and inspire the LGBT community to share who they are with their employers and co-workers. Courageous and thought provoking, this call-to-arms demonstrates that the hidden cost of hidden lives is far greater than we think.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) was CEO of BP from 1995 – 2007, where he built a reputation as a visionary leader, transforming BP into one of the world’s largest companies. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign member of the U.S. Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Galleries. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Stanford Universities, was knighted in 1998, and made a life peer in 2001. He is now a Partner at Riverstone Holdings, and the author of the memoir Beyond Business and of Seven Elements That Changed the World.