Apple Boss: I'm Gay And I Want To Inspire People

[Jazzy]

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has come out as gay and says he wants to "inspire people to insist on their equality".

Writing in Businessweek he said: "Let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

"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."

Mr Cook has never publicly acknowledged his sexuality, but said he was motivated to speak about it to inspire others.

He said: "I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise 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."

He emphasised that Apple has "long advocated for human rights and equality for all", and cited its intervention in Arizona - where it successfully urged the governor to veto a bill which would have let businesses discriminate against homosexuals.

But he said his decision to publicly come out was not an easy choice, adding: "Privacy remains important to me, and I'd like to hold on to a small amount of it."

I personally don't care if he's gay or not. Do you?

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I personally don't care if he's gay or not. Do you?

Nope.

 

[Webster]

For what its' worth, this is a big deal...for two principle reasons: (1)in coming out, Tim Cook became - as far as anyone knows - the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company; that alone, my friends, is worth making the news above a big deal and (2)by coming out of the closet, he becomes an inspiration to others, not just w/in the LGBT community but across society as a whole.

...so yes, my friends, this is a big deal.

 

[Webster]

There's an interesting WaPo article on what Tim Cook's annoucement could mean in regards to business and the workplace....
Excerpt...

"So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

And with that, Apple CEO Tim Cook, leader of perhaps the world's most admired company, head of the globe's most iconic brand and chief of one of the most valuable companies on the planet, became the first CEO in the Fortune 500 to publicly come out as gay. In an eloquent, thoughtful and powerful essay in Bloomberg Businessweek published early Thursday, Cook wrote that "while I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now."

There are a few other CEOs of publicly traded companies who are gay: Trevor Burgess, the chief executive of C1 Financial, became the first openly gay CEO of a publicly traded bank, for instance, and IGI Laboratories CEO Jason Grenfell-Gardner is public about his sexuality.

But there are no CEOs of companies nearly as large or economically significant as Apple who have publicly said they are gay. And that's important, say gay rights advocates, both to help inspire others to share their stories and to improve workplace discrimination against LGBT employees. "The fact that Apple is so incredibly ubiquitous and successful — they just posted their most successful quarter of all time — and that it has been led by a now openly gay leader, sends a tremendous message," said Todd Sears, a former investment banker who founded a global LGBT leadership and strategic advising firm.

Fred Sainz, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, wrote in an email from an airplane Thursday morning that while it's always significant when someone makes the choice to come out, Cook does have an "elevated platform." It's a platform, he noted, that the Apple CEO has already used to advance equality issues, such as when he spoke out about Alabama's record on civil rights on Monday.

"I have to believe that business leaders across the world today took notice of the fact that they have a gay colleague now in their ranks," Sainz wrote, "and questioned what that means to company policies and support for nondiscrimination protections." There is "lots of positive reflection going on today in boardrooms because of Tim Cook."(Washington Post)

 

[Dee]

I don't care if anyone is gay. Sexual orientation is not something that I take into consideration when determining whether I like or dislike a person. It's their actions that matter to me.

 

[~KAGE-008]

I don't care if anyone is gay. Sexual orientation is not something that I take into consideration when determining whether I like or dislike a person. It's their actions that matter to me.

Same here. Although I'm an Android user and don't plan on upgrading my iPad due to my limited budget.

 

[Bluezone777]

How fortunate he's gay because if he was straight then he would be working at Mcdonald's as a hateful unsympathetic poverty stricken man.

That's the way he comes off when he tries to make his sexuality out to be some big deal as if it had any bearing on where he is and what he is doing with his life professionally. It's not some big act of bravery to come out as gay anymore. It's more brave to admit you don't support this lifestyle then it is to come out as a person who lives that lifestyle.

 

[DrLeftover]

Now the Apple board can't fire him if the next release tanks.

 

[Enter Username Here]

It took a lot of courage for him to be brave like that.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

How fortunate he's gay because if he was straight then he would be working at Mcdonald's as a hateful unsympathetic poverty stricken man.

Would he? Didn't he come out as gay after he got the job?

 

[identityissues8]

I think Bluezone was trying to point out that his sexuality is his sexuality, not an accomplishment that got him anywhere in life.

 

[seasidemike]

ya but who isn't gay these days.. it is at the point that every time someone else comes out.. it is like.. ya so.....

 

[Bluezone777]

I think Bluezone was trying to point out that his sexuality is his sexuality, not an accomplishment that got him anywhere in life.

Exactly. He gets it.

 

[identityissues8]

ya but who isn't gay these days.. it is at the point that every time someone else comes out.. it is like.. ya so.....

Plenty of people aren't gay, even these days.

It's okay though. No one is judging you.

 

[seasidemike]

ya but who isn't gay these days.. it is at the point that every time someone else comes out.. it is like.. ya so.....

Plenty of people aren't gay, even these days.

It's okay though. No one is judging you.

Ya, I would be more shocked if someone came out and announced that they were straight

 

[Evil Eye]

'Kay, whatever. Good for him.

Ya, I would be more shocked if someone came out and announced that they were straight

Hey, guess what?

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I think Bluezone was trying to point out that his sexuality is his sexuality, not an accomplishment that got him anywhere in life.

Exactly. He gets it.

I get it now...


Speaking of apple, I wish I had an iPhone. This android glitches up too much.

 

[Evil Eye]

This seemed relevant to the discussion

 

[seasidemike]

'Kay, whatever. Good for him.

Ya, I would be more shocked if someone came out and announced that they were straight

Hey, guess what?

No way

 

[Shortie]

The way I see it is if he is good at his job, is able to bring good products and run a great business then what does it matter if he is gay? Kudos to him though for coming out as that takes a lot but I don't personally feel it will affect anything.