Le silence plane sur les gays

AGEMENT July 24, 2012, 7:27 p.m. ET

A Silence Hangs Over Gay CEOs

By LESLIE KWOH

For nearly two decades, Ernst & Young executive Beth Brooke navigated the office like it was a minefield, dodging water-cooler chatter for fear that someone might corner her with a personal question.

Her colleagues whispered that she was a "loner," she said, scarred from her divorce or perhaps just reclusive by nature.

But Ms. Brooke was growing tired of hiding, particularly after being tapped to head the company's diversity and inclusion efforts. So last year, while preaching openness in a company- sponsored video for the "It Gets Better" campaign, she rewrote the script.

"I'm gay," she said, looking straight into the camera. "And I've struggled with that for many years."

Like 53-year-old Ms. Brooke, a global vice chair of public policy, some top executives are tiptoeing out of the closet about their sexuality. Many describe their coming-out experiences as unexpectedly painless—and most say they were met with overwhelming support.

They say their job performance improved because they felt more at ease among colleagues.

"Life really did get better," Ms. Brooke said.

But if it is becoming more acceptable to be gay in corporate life, why do so many senior executives keep their sexuality a secret?

Being gay in the corporate world is still far from being a "nonissue," said Deena Fidas, deputy director of corporate programs at Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil-rights group in the U.S. Companies can still legally fire a worker for being gay in 29 states, for one, and many subtle biases re

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