In his native Alabama, Apple CEO's announcement he is gay prompts disfort for some | Rters

Contents:

• APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT AS GAY: I'M PROUD
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAID HE CID TO E OUT AS GAY AFTER READG LETTERS OM KIDS STGGLG WH THEIR INTY
• THE RNER CLOSET: WHY THERE ARE SO FEW GAY AND TRANSGENR EXECUTIV RPORATE AMERI
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'
• IN HIS NATIVE ALABAMA, APPLE CEO'S ANNOUNCEMENT HE IS GAY PROMPTS DISFORT FOR SOME

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

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says he was motivated to publicly e out as gay after receivg letters om children stgglg wh their sexual an terview wh People en Español, Cook discsed his public g out and his msage to children uncerta about revealg their sexual, now 58, me out 2014, beg the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 's ments e amid a tough spell for the Apple CEO, who has faced cricism for his cisn earlier this month to remove om the App Store an app that allowed Hong Kong protters to track police Bs Insir's homepage for more stori. Tim Cook says he was motivated to e out as gay after receivg letters om children stgglg wh their sexual ually private Apple CEO publicly me out 2014, revealg his sexual orientatn an open letter published Bloomberg Bsweek. This ma him the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 an terview wh People en Español published Thursday, the 58-year-old spoke about a range of topics related to sexual orientatn and young people.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'

"Though Cook said he "didn't worry" about how Apple staff would react to his g out, he did acknowledge worryg about the reactn "outsi of Apple, " and noted that "the world is still not iendly to gay or trans people many untri but also wh our untry. " He ntued: "Gay is not a limatn. "Cook add that beg gay gave him a lens to how other people thk and feel.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY

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.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY

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

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.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'

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.

IN HIS NATIVE ALABAMA, APPLE CEO'S ANNOUNCEMENT HE IS GAY PROMPTS DISFORT FOR SOME

Apple CEO Tim Cook me out Thursday, acknowledgg publicly for the first time that he is gay.

"Let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " he wrote a lumn Bloomberg Bsweek.

"So 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 tra-off wh my own privacy.