APPLE CEO Tim Cook on Thursday became the most prominent American corporate leader to come out as gay, saying he was trading his closely guarded privacy for the chance to help move civil rights forward.
The 53-year-old Alabama native and self-described "son of the South", who has spoken out against discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, declared his sexual orientation in a magazine editorial, confirming a fact widely known in the close-knit Silicon Valley tech community but rarely discussed.
Cook's announcement comes as gay marriage is becoming widespread, but the nation remains divided over gay rights. Same-sex marriage is legal in thirty-two U.S. states and in polls a majority support same-sex marriage, with a clear generational divide between younger Americans who are more likely to support it and older ones who are less likely.
The popularity of the ubiquitous iPhone and iPad have helped Apple become a symbol of corporate America across the globe. It now gets more than half of its revenue from abroad, with China its second largest market.
"As the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to reveal he is gay, Tim helps make the business world a bit less homophobic," Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of gay rights organization DignityUSA told Reuters in an email.
"I'm sure this will make it easier for some others in similar positions to consider coming out."
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