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

Contents:

• APPLE CEO TIM COOK: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY
• WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS HE'S 'PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAID HE CID TO E OUT AS GAY AFTER READG LETTERS OM KIDS STGGLG WH THEIR INTY
• TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI
• BS, MEDIA AND ACTIVIST BIGWIGS RPOND TO TIM COOK’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE’S GAY
• APPLE CHIEF TIM COOK: 'I'M PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT AS GAY: I'M PROUD
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’
• APPLE'S CEO IS NOW OPENLY GAY. IS THAT PROGRS?
• VIEWS YOU CAN USE: APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’
• APPLE CEO SAYS HE’S ‘PROUD TO BE GAY’
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK HAS EXPLAED A HEARTFELT SPEECH WHY HE ME OUT AS GAY
• APPLE AND STEVE JOBS HAVE LONG BEEN CHAMPNS FOR GAY RIGHTS

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

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 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. 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. Three days before he beme the only head of a major Amerin rporatn to announce he is gay, Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, was his home state of Alabama, liverg a speech that voked his hero, Bobby Kennedy and Mart Luther Kg, and hted at ambns not prevly associated wh the world’s olt tech pany.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK COM OUT AS GAY

In June, he joed other Apple employe at San Francis’s Gay Pri, by g out as gay and proud an say Bloomberg Bsweek, he has explicly lked his own sexualy to Apple’s rporate polici and his clear aspiratn for a more equal and open society. ”Much of the ensug discsn has foced on the likely effect of Cook’s announcement on public policy, on the reer prospects of gay people the US who rema overwhelmgly aaid to e out to their work lleagu, and on the dozens of untri that do bs wh Apple while ntug to crimalise is also the cleart possible statement that Cook is steppg out of the shadow of his formidable precsor, Steve Jobs, and tablishg a startlgly different learship style.

People were aaid of him, not bee he might blow up as Jobs was known to do, but bee he would quietly pummel them wh qutns and expect immediate the pany and Silin Valley, was no secret that he was gay. Earlier this year, for example, Apple was stmental persuadg the Arizona state legislature to veto a bill that would have let pany lears wh anti-gay relig beliefs practise open ’s sight is shared by another Silin Valley bs lear who me out the 1990s a much ls gay-iendly environment. “If all the lobbyists for the pro-gay Fortune 500 pani talked to their reprentativ Congrs, would be done – we’d have natnal antidiscrimatn legislatn, ” said Tim Gill, who built the sktop publishg pany Quark and now heads a polil foundatn to promote gay rights .

”Cook om a workg-class world where homosexualy was far om accepted – the mayor of the town where he grew up, Robertsdale, has said he should have kept his private life to himself. The Fortune 500 has only 25 women chief executiv, five Ain-Amerins and – as of last week – one openly gay COOK FILEBorn 1960 Mobile, Alabama, to a shipyard worker and a mother who juggled parentg three children wh a job a dg store.

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

Worked for IBM and Compaq before beg hired by Steve Jobs at Apple of tim The rollout of the Apple OS X operatg system, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad – all huge of tim In 1996, he was diagnosed wh multiple sclerosis, which turned out to be a misdiagnosis but sred him enough to turn him to a fanatil bike rir and a prodig fundraiser for multiple sclerosis he says “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.

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?

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS HE'S 'PROUD TO BE GAY'

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.

"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.

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

The head of the tech giant said his sexualy has never been a secret at his pany, but acknowledgg his homosexualy as a public statement about equaly was "more important" than his privacy. Cook said that beg gay was only part of his inty, and scribed himself as a "an engeer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fns nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other thgs. 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: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI

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. "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.

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. 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. — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) October 30, 2014Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nalla, via Twter:Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, via Facebook:Huffgton Post founr Arianna Huffgton:The Natnal Gay & Lbian Chamber of Commerce:The Natnal Gay & Lbian Chamber of Commerce, the bs voice of the LGBT muny, mends Tim Cook for his movg and heartfelt g out say.

— Anthony Watson (@AnthonyWatson) October 30, 2014Phillip Schiller, senr vice print of worldwi at Apple, via Twter:Jason Colls, first openly gay active NBA player, via Twter:Barney Frank, the first Congrsman to voluntarily e out as gay, speakg on CNBC:“When the man who has been the lear for several years wh great succs of one of the most important … bs Ameri, says, ‘Oh by the way, you know those people about whom you have the negative feelgs, well I’m one of them. 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.

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

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?

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

' "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.

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

Outstandg, a not-for-prof profsnal work for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) executiv, said on Thursday that many LGBT people the UK felt was "safer to stay the closet" when at May a US study by LGBT anisatn Human Rights Campaign suggted that 53% of US LGBT employe had not e out at work. 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, " 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.

"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... 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. "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 CEO TIM COOK: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’

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?

And CNBC’s Squawk on the Street -host Simon Hobbs accintally outed Cook on CNBC June, sayg “I thk Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he is gay at the head of Apple, isn’t he? He wr that beg gay has given him an unrstandg of the challeng faced by mori, makg him empathetic to such stggl, but that ’s also given him the nfince to be himself and ma him thick-skned. 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, ” Cook wr.

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. 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.

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

But “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, ” Cook wrote. “The pany I am so fortunate to lead has long advoted for human rights and equaly for all, ” Cook wrote, cg Apple’s public support for gay marriage California and for a workplace equaly bill before Congrs. ” Noah Michelson, the executive edor of the Huffgton Post’s Gay Voic blog, said Cook’s say – and particular, Cook llg his sexual orientatn “among the greatt gifts God has given me” – had him tearg up.

VIEWS YOU CAN USE: APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'

Tim Cook was already one of the most high-profile bs lears the world, and now he is s most proment openly gay ’s chief executive addrsed his sexual orientatn publicly for the first time Thursday, g out a first-person say tled “Tim Cook Speaks Up. ”“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 the say, which was published Bloomberg rporate lears have e out of the closet, even though dog so has bee more mon among celebri, profsnal athlet and policians.

Gay rights supporters note that 29 stat do not have laws that explicly prohib workplace discrimatn based on sexual orientatn, and they hope Cook’s g out will brg attentn to the issue.

The 53-year-old had been wily mored to be gay for years, but the tech world largely paid ltle attentn to such changed Thursday, wh several tech lears quickly turng to social media to appld Cook’s cisn to e out. #applepri”In July, he followed that up by tweetg a lk to a vio showg employe celebratg gay pri by donng whe T-shirts wh the Apple in outled by a jt this week, Cook slammed Alabama’s long-standg issu wh racial equaly and discrimatn agast gays a speech he ma durg a ceremony ductg him to the Alabama Amy of Honor.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’

“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, ” he said, “then ’s worth the tra-off wh my own privacy. Apple CEO Tim Cook says he chose to e out as gay bee "people need to hear that beg gay is not a limatn, " Re/ was speakg at the Human Rights Campaign awards dner on Saturday Washgton, D. Today, on Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), Apple buts a new Apple Watch Pri Edn band and dynamic watch face, both of which rporate a broar set of lors spired by multiple Pri flags that have reprented the diverse LGBTQ+ muny throughout s rich history.

APPLE CEO SAYS HE’S ‘PROUD TO BE GAY’

We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposn 8 — we should not elimate anyone’s fundamental rights, whatever their sexualy, to marry the person they 8 asi, here are some other exampl of Apple stickg up for Gay kicks hateful apps to the curbIn Febary 2011, a Christian group lled Exod Internatnal released an app on the iTun App Store lled "Gay Cure. " And if you take a look at the Exod Internatnal webse, they appear to be an anizatn oddly obssed wh "curg" homosexual app somehow ma past Apple's review procs, wh a 4+ ratg no ls. Amongst all brands, Apple me send, cedg the top spot to the Bravo TV for those keepg track at home, Samsung the survey was at the bottom of the heap, tg only a 4% favorable rponse om wh the release of iOS 6, Apple clud emotins pictg gay and lbian upl holdg hands.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK HAS EXPLAED A HEARTFELT SPEECH WHY HE ME OUT AS GAY

Williamson County, however, soon changed their tune amidst much Jobs stands up for gay rightsBut one of the more touchg exampl of Apple's support for gay rights volv Steve Jobs Steve Jobs passed away, former NeXT and Apple employee Ronald Hayn wrote a post tailg his first experience wh Jobs back the 1980s.

APPLE AND STEVE JOBS HAVE LONG BEEN CHAMPNS FOR GAY RIGHTS