Dive Brief:
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Apple CEO Tim Cook penned an essay in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Thursday publicly acknowledging his sexual orientation for the first time.
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In the piece, Cook said that though many in his life are aware of his orientation, coming out wasn’t easy. But he felt compelled to do so because of his influential position, which he hopes will contribute to the changing perceptions toward tolerance of all people regardless of sexual orientation. “I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others.”
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“Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation,” Cook writes. “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.”
Dive Insight:
While Apple CEO Tim Cook has been exuberant about his company’s products and prospects, and has testified to Congress in support of LGBT rights, he has kept his private life to himself. Until now. This public declaration of his sexual orientation may make him the most eminent openly gay business executive in the world, an important new profile for the LGBT community.
“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,” he writes.
