Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said he’s gay: Here’s the reactn | Fortune

Contents:

• THE RNER CLOSET: WHY THERE ARE SO FEW GAY AND TRANSGENR EXECUTIV RPORATE AMERI
• WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?
• TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• 11 U.S. PRINTS WHO MIGHT’VE BEEN GAY
• APPLE'S CEO IS NOW OPENLY GAY. IS THAT PROGRS?
• APPLE CHIEF TIM COOK: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE AND STEVE JOBS HAVE LONG BEEN CHAMPNS FOR GAY RIGHTS
• APPLE'S GAY CEO DONATED TO ELECT REPUBLINS TO CONGRS
• BS, MEDIA AND ACTIVIST BIGWIGS RPOND TO TIM COOK’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE’S GAY

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

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. ”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?

Jt two others today publicly intify as gay asi om Gente and Cook: Dow’s Jim Fterlg and Land O’ Lak’ Beth Ford. 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. 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.

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

“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. 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.

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.

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

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

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

"Once you e out, you are expected to sudnly be an expert on all thgs gay, but of urse you are an expert on your job - not all thgs gay, " says Ms source, Getty ImagCommercial ncernsChief executiv uld have another ncern. The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn lists 78 untri wh crimal laws agast sexual activy by the groups of those untri are Ai, Asia and the Middle regns are growg fast and are where amb pani would be eager to Sandhu of Outstandg thks havg a gay chief executive "uld impact sal" those untri. But that remas to be seen, as there is no data to support the Tim Cook's announcement, we might fd out over the next few years whether ctomers might nsir the sexualy of a chief executive when choosg a mobile prospectsSo what about gay people tryg to work their way through the ranks the current era?

Over three-quarters of Ameri's 500 biggt pani have non-discrimatn polici that bar firg someone bee they are gay or lbian, says Jt Nelson, -founr and print of the US Natnal Gay and Lbian Chamber of he says those polici n only go so far. "There are still tim that, even when you have a policy, the guy the cubicle next to you might have a personal belief that is not fully clive, " he source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Christopher Bailey is the only openly gay chief executive of a FTSE 100 firmSome dtri are workg harr than others to overe such UK fashn dtry n boast the only openly gay chief executive among FTSE 100 pani, after Christopher Bailey beme chief executive of Burberry earlier this Sandhu says diversy is " the DNA" of the fashn dtry is not necsarily leadg the way enuragg gay staff.

The buildg tra is also makg a big effort, she says, wh nstctn giant Balfour Beatty workg closely wh Stonewall to help gay staff.

11 U.S. PRINTS WHO MIGHT’VE BEEN GAY

Dpe the efforts of mpaigng groups, many young gay people still feel unr prsure to hi their sexualy. "It's que shockg to learn that even now graduat who are openly gay at universy are gog back to the closet bee the bs world is a ltle behd, " says Mr on this story.

Cook, who has not publicly discsed his sexualy, was named to the top of Out's list of powerful gays, y, but he's also received greater regnn the prs for the credible divinds Apple is reapg om s supply cha strategy, led by Cook, of g Apple's sh hoard to lock up ccial ponents for months or years, protectg products like the iPad om shortag, ensurg strong growth and margs for Apple and lockg out would be, Cook has graduated om a high profile tech executive servg as retaker of the world's biggt tech pany to the head of what, on some days, is now the biggt pany the world, perd. He's also gone om beg the most powerful gay man Silin Valley to the most powerful gay man the world, bar, we revis our January profile of Cook.

"Romantic terts: After Cook was profiled as a "lifelong bachelor" and "tensely private" elsewhere, we wonred if he might be gay. One tech executive who has spoken to multiple Apple management veterans about Cook was told executiv there would support Cook if he publicly acknowledged his orientatn, and even would enurage him to do so as he steps up his learship role, but that they also had ncerns about whether his g out would impact the perceptn of the Apple would be, by far, the most powerful openly gay executive tech, trailed by Microsoft's openly lbian HR chief Lisa Bmmel and by Megan Smh, the former PlaOut CEO now workg as Google's vice print of new bs velopment.

APPLE'S CEO IS NOW OPENLY GAY. IS THAT PROGRS?

Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly nfirmed he is gay an opn piece published Thursday, makg him the hight-profile chief executive to e an say published by Bloomberg Bsweek advotg for human rights and equaly, Cook says he was spired by Dr. "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 be the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 pany, acrdg to gays rights group Human Rights Campaign, who appld the Apple chief's say. "Cook says he's been open wh others about beg gay, but felt pelled to publicly e out to help others.

"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. "This serv as an openg of the door for other CEOs, senr-level managers, senr-level executiv to say I'm ready to brg my thentic self to the office and I know now that 's not potentially a triment, 's an asset to be out and proud the workplace, " says Jt Nelson, -founr and print of the Natnal Gay & Lbian Chamber of has been among the top Amerin pani for embracg equaly. "Cook's piece published days after the Apple CEO cricized his home state of Alabama over gay rights.

APPLE CHIEF TIM COOK: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'

"I thk Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he is gay at the head of Apple, isn't he? 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.

" Related: Tim Cook isn't the only openly gay CEO Cook, who grew up Alabama, said he has long been open about his sexual orientatn, but had jt not prevly discsed publicly.

"Plenty of lleagu at Apple know I'm gay, and don't seem to make a difference the way they treat me, " he wrote. John Browne served as CEO of BP (BP) om 1995 to 2007, and acknowledged he was gay after he was forced to leave office. Consirg how much people love to speculate on who might and might not be gay — I thk ’s replaced baseball and oby as Ameri’s favore pastime — I was surprised I uldn’t fd a sgle list out about the potential closeted homosexualy of the U.

APPLE AND STEVE JOBS HAVE LONG BEEN CHAMPNS FOR GAY RIGHTS

Apologi to Elanor Roosevelt who would’ve ma the cut if I really need to fudge thgs… and also to Harry Tman, whose ployg of the Enola Gay was gog to be my emergency 11th pick if I uldn’t fd anyone better. Still, tabloid speculatn and beg one of the most pro-gay rights prints ever isn’t enough to ph him any higher on the list than last. That beg said, a book lled Jack and Lem dug ep to his lifelong iendship wh a gay man named Lem Billgs… and at least threw some iffs to the mix.

There was a sarstic New Yorker wre-up of why Thomas Jefferson might’ve been gay last year. Sce the man who was clost to LBJ for 25 years turned out to be gay on the down low (he had a wife and six kids; they separated a few years after the sndal) — speculatn surfaced that maybe there was somethg between Johnson and Jenks. If the past ten years have tght anythg, ’s the lour a polician ralli agast gay rights, the more likely he is to wd up gettg ught sgg “Glory, Glory Hole-allujah.

APPLE'S GAY CEO DONATED TO ELECT REPUBLINS TO CONGRS

In 1953, Eisenhower signed Executive Orr 10450, which classified gays and lbians as potential natnal secury threats and banned them om workg for the ernment. But I rearched every sgle print for this list — and when people do get around to jawg on Chter A., the homosexual thg keeps poppg up. Apple CEO Tim Cook ma history last week, beg the first Fortune 500 CEO to break through the steel ceilg of heterosexual privilege the bs world when he disclosed Bsweek that he is "proud to be gay.

Are prosperg, recent rearch dit that lbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Amerins actually remaed more likely to be poor than heterosexual people. He even wrote, "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. "Yet, the plex and ternnected stggl of queer women, people of lor, and transgenr dividuals are often obscured when we celebrate seemg moments of sgular gay uplift.

In fact, twenty-four percent of lbians and bisexual women are poor, pared wh only 19% of heterosexual women, as reported by the Williams, Cook exists among a ntgent wh the LGBT muny ma up of whe cisgenr men who are more likely to be enomilly stable, employed, and ’s announcement was important given that up until now there was not one openly gay Fortune 500 CEO, but we should be ls quick our sh to name this moment progrs. " And now one is openly long as gayns is an inty celebrated or talked about when certa LGBT people, like the wealthy and famo, e out or when LGBT people are vlently killed the US, we will ntue to wns the var ways some wh the LGBT spectm are placed squarely the center of power as some others are phed to the edg of the is no activist.

BS, MEDIA AND ACTIVIST BIGWIGS RPOND TO TIM COOK’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE’S GAY

Image source, RtersImage ptn, Mr Cook said he ma his announcement to try to help people stgglg wh their intyApple chief executive Tim Cook has publicly acknowledged his sexualy, sayg that he is "proud to be gay" Cook ma his announcement to try to help people stgglg wh their inty, he wrote a Bloomberg Bsweek has been open about his sexualy, but has also tried to mata a basic level of privacy until now, he week Mr Cook challenged his home state of Alabama to ensure the rights of gay and transgenr people. Privacy tra-off"While I have never nied my sexualy, I haven't publicly acknowledged eher, until now, " he ptn, Former BP chief executive Lord Browne says Mr Cook is "an important role mol""So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I nsir beg gay among the greatt gifts God has given me, " he said he didn't nsir himself an activist, but that he realised he had "benefed om the sacrifice of others.

""So if hearg that the CEO [chief executive] 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, " he Cook said that he had been open about his sexualy wh many people, cludg lleagu at Apple, but that still "wasn't an easy choice" to publicly announce his sexual quoted civil rights mpaigner Mart Luther Kg, sayg: "Life's most persistent and urgent qutn is, 'What are you dog for others? ' "Rory Cellan-Jon, BBC News technology rrponntTim Cook's announcement may e as no surprise Silin Valley or across rporate that do not mean that we should unrtimate the signifince of the lear of the world's most valuable pany talkg openly about his May, a piece the New York Tim asked "where are the gay chief executiv? " and stggled to name any openly gay CEOs at Ameri's 1, 000 biggt unr Steve Jobs was not a pany that took a stand on any issu which were not seen as relevant to s Cook has been more forthg on all sorts of issu, cludg equal rights for gay workers, and while he says he do not see himself as an activist, that is how many will now see uld embroil him ntroversy the Uned Stat, let alone other parts of the world wh ls liberal views of Cook admted that gog public as a gay man was not an easy choice - but certaly looks a urageo week Mr Cook referred to Mart Luther Kg a speech Alabama which he lled for equal rights for people based on sexual orientatn and said that Alabama had been too slow to ensure the rights of ethnic mori the civil rights era, and was now beg too slow to guarantee gay rights.