Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘Proud To Be Gay’
Image via Flickr/ Mike Deerkoski
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has written an op-ed today in Businessweek in which he openly acknowledges his sexuality. Although he admits that he’s a private person who doesn’t try to draw attention to himself, preferring instead to keep the focus on Apple products, Cook writes that he feels the need to do something important for others by officially stating that he is gay.
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,” he writes.
Cook says he’s been “open” with many people at Apple about his sexuality over the years and that he’s lucky to work at a place that “knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences.” While he doesn’t consider himself an activist, he writes that he’s benefited from the sacrifices 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 [his] own privacy.”
Cook’s essay also emphasizes the fact that social progress is not just about acknowledging sexual orientation — it’s about understanding that sexual orientation doesn’t fully define a person and taking small steps toward the greater goal of equality for people of all races, genders and sexual orientations.
