Today Tim Cook came out as being gay, becoming the most prominent American corporate leader to do so. He said he was willing to trade his privacy for the chance to help with civil rights. Cook has spoken up for rights for the LGBT community and confirmed his sexual orientation that is mostly already known in the Silicon Valley tech community but not often discussed.
Same-sex marriage is legal in 32 states and most people support same-sex marriage according to polls, with older Americans not being as supportive as the younger generation. In an article he wrote for Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook wrote “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, the executive director of gay rights organization DignityUSA told Reuters that “As the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to reveal he is gay, Tim helps make the business world a bit less homophobic.” She went on to say that it should make it easier for other people in similar situations to think about coming out.
