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Tim Cook is gay. Yes, it matters.

By disclosing his sexual orientation, Cook took a bold step for the tech industry specifically and for corporate culture in general.

Joanne Carew
By Joanne Carew, ITWeb Cape-based contributor.
Johannesburg, 05 Nov 2014

Tim Cook has pictures of two great men in his office at Apple ? Robert Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. His choice of d'ecor is inspired by the bravery of these men who sacrificed everything, including their lives, as champions of human rights and human dignity.

"I have seen and experienced many types of discrimination and all of them were rooted in the fear of people that were different than the majority," said Cook as part of a speech on human rights at the end of 2013.

Last week, Cook disregarded his vehemently private demeanour and emulated these great men by announcing to the world that he is gay. Confirming what many in Silicon Valley have known for years, one of the most powerful men in technology openly declared his sexual orientation in a personal essay for Bloomberg's Businessweek.

"I believe deeply in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, who said: Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' I often challenge myself with that question, and I've come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That's what has led me to today," wrote Cook.

Personally, I have little interest in Cook's sexual proclivities and I long for a day when there is no need for this kind of information to be announced to the world, or for it to be described as a "revelation" splashed across the front pages of newspapers and magazines. But the fact that Cook's sexual preferences made news headlines today is hopefully all part of laying the groundwork for the future, when this kind of personal information is no longer considered to be newsworthy. And the hope, according to Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of LGBT media monitoring group GLAAD, is that his courage will function to move society towards becoming more inclusive and diverse.

"It's a game-changer for corporate culture to have one of the most public and successful company leaders come out. A lot of our youth who saw this story today, they wake up and see the world a little differently now. You can be what you see," Ellis says.

The current reality is that for many, Cook's disclosure is about a lot more than who he decides to share his bed with. As the CEO of Apple, Cook is the only openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

His statement said to the world that while his sexual orientation may make some view him as unusual or "different", he has still managed to be successful. And his announcement is about speaking directly to others who are considered "different".

And this is why his recent disclosure is so important. Whether we would like to admit it or not, discrimination exists - be it based on gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. To highlight just a single example of this, in response to Cook's essay, Vitaly Milonov, a Russian member of Parliament, called on the world to "ban him for life". This kind of homophobic sentiment has discouraged many major corporate CEOs from publically revealing their sexuality because their global business interests include clients in countries with conservative views on homosexuality.

His statement said to the world that while his sexual orientation may make some view him as unusual or "different", he has still managed to be successful.

While the tech industry is considered to be relatively open when it comes to employee sexual orientation, according to a Deloitte survey on inclusion in the workplace, 83% of gay, lesbian and bisexual people are secretive about identity at work because they want to protect their privacy and are fearful of alienation and workplace discrimination. The same study revealed that younger employees look up to and revere senior executives and when the people at the top are open about their identity, this encourages others to do the same.

Given the interconnectedness that comes hand-in-hand with mobile technology, social networks and the Internet, the personal lives of public figures like Cook have become part of the global news agenda. While people like Cook are in no way obliged to position themselves as role models that others can aspire to, given their success and status in society, their courage to do so can have a significant impact.

Tim Cook is the CEO of one of the most successful tech companies in the world. Valued at $118.9 billion and widely accepted as the globe's most valuable brand, Cook is captaining a rather formidable ship. He also just so happens to like boys rather than girls. Should this matter? Initially, I didn't think so. But it does. Cook himself puts it quite aptly.

"I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy."

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