WASHINGTON, United States,
Oct 30 – Apple CEO Tim Cook
came out as gay Thursday and
said that fighting for equality
is at the core of his personal
and business ethos.
The head of the tech giant
said his sexuality has never
been a secret at his company,
but acknowledging his
homosexuality as a public
statement about equality was
“more important” than his
privacy.
“Let me be clear: I’m proud to
be gay, and I consider being
gay among the greatest gifts
God has given me,” Cook said
in a statement in Bloomberg
Businessweek.
“I’ve had the good fortune to
work at a company that loves
creativity and innovation and
knows it can only flourish when
you embrace people’s
differences. Not everyone is so
lucky,” he said.
The Apple CEO said coming out
was part of his personal fight
to stand up for minorities, a
value he said his company also
embraces.
“Part of social progress is
understanding that a person is
not defined only by one’s
sexuality, race, or gender,” he
said.
“Being gay has given me a
deeper understanding of what
it means to be in the minority
and provided a window into
the challenges that people in
other minority groups deal
with every day.”
“We’ll continue to fight for our
values, and I believe that any
CEO of this incredible company,
regardless of race, gender, or
sexual orientation, would do
the same.
“And I will personally continue
to advocate for equality for all
people until my toes point
up.”
Cook took over as the head of
Apple in 2011 after the death
of former CEO Steve Jobs.
He has faced criticism for not
maintaining Apple’s lustre
after the death of Jobs, who
was hailed by fans as a
visionary.
But the recent frenzy over the
big screen iPhone 6 launch
had some analysts applauding
Apple’s comeback as it seeks to
carve out its niche in the
increasingly popular “phablet”
market.
Cook said that being gay was
only part of his identity, and
described himself as a “an
engineer, an uncle, a nature
lover, a fitness nut, a son of
the South, a sports fanatic, and
many other things.”
He said he is inspired by civil
rights champions Marin Luther
King and Robert Kennedy,
whose portraits hang in his
office.
www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2014/10/apple-chief-tim-cook-proud-to-be-gay/