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.

在我的职业生涯中，我一直在努力维护最基本的隐私。我出身卑微草根，而且我也不希望吸引他人关注。苹果已经成为全球最受关注的公司之一，我希望能够专注于我们的产品，开发出让消费者感到神奇的产品和服务。

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.

与此同时，我深信马丁·路德·金(Martin Luther King)说过的一些话。他说：“生命中最持久和最紧迫的问题是：你正在为其他人做什么？”我经常用这个问题来挑战自己，现在意识到，我保护个人隐私的渴望已经阻止了我去做一些更重要的事情。

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.

多年来，我在许多人面前对我的性取向都保持公开的态度。苹果的许多同事也知道我是一个同性恋者，但他们对待我的态度没有什么不同。当然，我有幸能在苹果工作。这家公司热衷于创造和创新，能够接受人们之间的差异。因此，并不是所有人都这么幸运。

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.

我从未否认过我的性取向，但我也从未公开承认过，直至现在。现在让我清楚地表达自己的立场：我很自豪成为一个同性恋者，我认为，成为一名同性恋者是上帝赐予我的最伟大的礼物。

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.

身为一名同性恋者让我能够更深地理解成为人群中的少数意味着什么，同时也给我提供了一扇窗口来了解其他少数群体每天都要面临的困难。这让我更加能够感同身受，也丰富了我的人生。有时候，这种感觉很难受，很不舒服，但它也给了我成为自己的信心，让我能够追寻自己的道路，让我能超越敌意与偏执。同时这也给了我一张犀牛皮，作为苹果CEO这一点迟早会用上。

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.

与我的儿时相比，世界发生了巨变。美国已经是婚姻平等，已经勇战站出来的公众人物已经帮助人们改变了想法，让我们的文化更加包容。但是，在大多数州，仍然有现行的法律允许雇主仅仅因为性取向而解雇员工。在许多地方，房东仍然有权驱逐同性恋租客，在许多地方，我们仍然会被禁止探访生病的伴侣，也不能继承他们的遗产。无数的人，尤其是孩子，每天都因为自己的性取向而面临恐惧和凌辱。

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.

我并不认为自己是一个同志活动家，但我意识到，我从别人的牺牲中受益匪浅。因此，如果听说苹果CEO是一名同性恋者能够抚慰其他一些同性恋者，或者让饱受孤独的任何人感到一丝安慰，或者是能激励某人坚持他们的平等观念，牺牲我个人一点隐私也是值得的。

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.

我承认，这并不是一个容易的选择。隐私对我而言仍是十分重要的，我仍愿意保留那么一点隐私。苹果已经成为我生活的一部分，我将继续投入计划全部 时间、竭尽所能来确保成为一名优秀的CEO。这是我们的员工、客户、开发者、股东和供应商合作伙伴所应得的。社会在进步，已经不再仅仅依靠性取向、种族或 性别来评判一个人。我是一名工程师，一位大叔、一个自然爱人(a nature lover)、美国南部阿拉巴马州的儿子，等等。希望人们能够尊重我的选择，允许我追求适合自己的事情，以及能给我带来快乐的工作。

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.

我很荣幸能够领导的这家公司(苹果)一直倡导人权和平等。在国会面前，我们一直坚定地支持办公场所内一切平等的提议，正如我们支持加州的婚姻平 等一样。当亚利桑那州通过反同性恋法案后，我们也提出反对。我们将继续为我们的价值抗争，我相信，这家伟大公司的任何一位CEO，无论种族、性别或性取向，都会这么做。我个人也会继续为争取所有人的平等而努力，直到生命终结。

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.

每天早上进入办公室后，我都会看到马丁·路德和罗伯特·肯尼迪(Robert F. Kennedy)的相框。我写这篇文章，不是想把自己列入他们阵营。只是为了让我在看到他们照片时，知道自己应该做什么来帮助他人，即使是微不足道的小 事。让我们一起铺平走向(同性恋)司法公平的大道，一步一步。而这就是我迈出的一步。