'I'm proud to be gay,' Apple CEO Tim Cook says open letter supportg equaly | AppleInsir

gay apple executive

It looks creasgly like Steve Jobs' reign at Apple is over. If the CEO don't return om his third, fe medil leave, COO Tim Cook will succeed him, markg a new era not only for Apple but for gay progrs.

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THE RNER CLOSET: WHY THERE ARE SO FEW GAY AND TRANSGENR EXECUTIV RPORATE AMERI

Apple's Tim Cook has bee the first openly gay chief executive of a pany the Fortune 500 list of the biggt US pani. Why aren't there more? * gay apple executive *

He says public disapproval of homosexualy ma many the gay muny wary of intifyg themselv at work, pecially durg the AIDS/HIV crisis. “Not seeg other gay people who were above me rank, I knew uld potentially hold back my reer. Gente says the rner closet nudged open 2014 when Apple’s Tim Cook, lear of one of the world’s most inic brands, clared “I’m proud to be gay.

“A lear of his stature and the thenticy of his msage were so movg to so many gay Amerins and alli.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT AS GAY: I'M PROUD

In a tragic moment for Steve Jobs, there is a bright spot: Tim Cook, who will succeed Jobs as Apple's CEO, is an credibly thorough and tail oriented boss who has revolutnized the way puters are assembled and steadily held the nfince of Apple's employe and partners. He is also, as we reported January, sted to bee an in for gay advancement. * gay apple executive *

”But progrs has remaed slow sce Cook beme the first publicly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 pany, particularly dtri outsi fashn, media and entertament.

WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?

* gay apple executive *

Jt two others today publicly intify as gay asi om Gente and Cook: Dow’s Jim Fterlg and Land O’ Lak’ Beth Ford. 3% of Amerins siar age to the CEOs say they are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr.

They didn't keep rights movement transforms workplaceThe gay rights movement has led to substantial chang the workplace a relatively short perd of time, says Lee Badgett, an enomics profsor at the Universy of Massachetts more LGBTQ employe opened up about their inti and formed employee rource groups and as lawsus raised the prsure, rporatns extend benefs to same-sex upl and created anti-discrimatn polici the 1990s. 7% of people Generatn Z – those born om 1997 to 2004 – intified as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr pared wh jt 3.

A history on how the flag me to beGay and transgenr employe bump up agast 'lavenr ceilg'But wh too few mentors, sponsors and alli, there’s still prsure to hi sexual orientatn or genr inty at work, she said.

TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI

In an say for Bloomberg Bsweek, Cook out by sayg he's proud to be gay and his silence was a matter of personal privacy. Two other publicly trad U.S. pani have publicly gay CEOs. * gay apple executive *

They live and work areas of the untry where beg their whole selv at work uld put them at risk, pecially as nservativ ph legislatn targetg the gay and transgenr there’s the risk of bumpg up agast the “lavenr ceilg, ” which keeps gay and transgenr employe om jobs for which they qualify and om dog their jobs at the level they are pable of, said Badgett, thor of “The Enomic Case for LGBT Equaly: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefs Us All. ”People who belong to multiple unrreprented groups, such as Black gay people or transgenr women, face even bigger hurdl.

“You put yourself at risk the event that beg an out lear creat an addnal Irv worked on Wall Street, she was often the only gay woman the room. One more years of stayg relatively silent, Apple CEO Tim Cook me out as gay on Thursday for the first time publicly, sayg that "while I have never nied my sexualy, I haven't publicly acknowledged eher, until now.

""So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me. "'"So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " Cook said Bsweek, beg the first Fortune 500 chief executive to e out, who took over the role 2011 shortly before the ath of Apple founr Steve Jobs, wr that he's been open about his sexualy wh many people his life, cludg "plenty" of his Apple lleagu, and that hasn't changed the way he's been treated.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAID HE CID TO E OUT AS GAY AFTER READG LETTERS OM KIDS STGGLG WH THEIR INTY

He ntu the post:"Beg gay has given me a eper unrstandg of what means to be the mory and provid a wdow to the challeng that people other mory groups al wh every day. "RELATED: Apple CEO tells climate change niers to sell their Apple sharThe Natnal Gay & Lbian Chamber of Commerce praised Cook for g out, wrg a statement that "The bs voice of the LGBT muny, mends Tim Cook for his movg and heartfelt g out say...

MEET APPLE'S NEW BOSS, THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN SILIN VALLEY

Wyomg on Tuday beme the 32nd state to legalize gay marriage, jog several other nservative areas allowg same-sex lossal shift go for public opn, too. A recent poll shows half of the Amerin public believ gay marriage is a nstutnal right, wh 50% sayg that same-sex marriage is protected by the U.

The numbers support of marriage equaly this year far surpass those om a siar survey 2004, when jt 32% of Amerins said they favored gay as a pany has been a strong supporter of marriage equaly. " And Cook himself has been a vol supporter of gay rights over the years.

"In December 2013, a speech Cook gave on gay rights and racism -- cludg personal discrimatn -- led some media outlets, cludg Gawker's tech se Valleywag, to ponr if that was the first time the Apple CEO acknowledged his sexual orientatn publicly.

APPLE'S TIM COOK IN RARE COMPANY AS PUBLICLY GAY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

This summer, a CNBC segment of "Squawk on the Street" turned heads when one host accintally "outed" Cook, sayg “I thk Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he’s gay at the head of Apple isn’t he? The famoly private Cook me out an say published by Bloomberg 2014, makg him the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 pany.

In the say, he wrote: “If hearg that the CEO of Apple is gay n help someone stgglg to e to terms wh who he or she is, or brg fort to anyone who feels alone, or spire people to sist on their equaly, then ’s worth the traoff wh my own privacy. In addn to stillg an LGBTQ+-iendly pany culture, Gente clud a give-back program to raise funds and awarens for the Trevor Project—the world’s largt suici preventn and crisis terventn anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and qutng young people. Ford has been openly gay her whole profsnal reer, tellg CNN, “I ma a cisn long ago to live an thentic life, and if my beg named CEO helps others do the same, that’s a wonrful moment.

GLAAD (Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn) is a media monorg anizatn that is famo for takg a strong stance agast biased and rogatory LGBT reprentatn. Image source, Getty ImagIt's pretty startlg that among the chief executiv of the 500 biggt US pani only one, Tim Cook of Apple, is openly claratn this week that he is "proud to be gay" was hailed as an important moment for the gay muny.

'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY,' APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS OPEN LETTER SUPPORTG EQUALY

Campaigners say they know of boss of other big firms who are gay, but are reluctant to be open about hope Mr Cook's public acknowledgement will spur them to e what is holdg them back? Changg tim"When I was at universy, people who did gay thgs, homosexual acts, ually went to prison and stayed there a long time, " Lord Browne said an terview wh the BBC earlier this rigned as chief executive of BP 2007 after emerged that statements he had ma legal documents about a four-year relatnship he'd had wh a man had been "untthful" Lord Browne, many chief executiv would have grown up tim that were much ls tolerant of gay people.

"Societal views have changed nsirably, but that has only really been the past 10 years, " says Si Sandhu, founr of profsnal work ptn, Former BP chief executive Lord Browne says Mr Cook is "an important role mol"Gay people now their 50s and 60s uld have been keepg their sexualy a secret om lleagu for years, perhaps s. "Some of our bt lears are known for their honty and thenticy, to kd of then turn around and go, 'Actually, there's a big thg that I haven't que mentned', is que difficult, " says Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, the lbian, gay and bisexual equaly anisatn.

Executiv who do e out n expect to be a role mol for younger gay staff, which n be an add prsure.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY APPLE EXECUTIVE

'I'm proud to be gay,' Apple CEO Tim Cook says open letter supportg equaly | AppleInsir.

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