Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned a courageous and important essay for Bloomberg Businessweek entitled “Tim Cook Speaks Up,” in which he publicly acknowledges his sexual orientation for the first time.
While Cook has been openly gay with personal friends and colleagues at Apple for years, he’s always tried to keep the public focus on Apple’s products and customers. But in the essay, he admits that his desire for personal privacy may have been preventing him from doing something more important, and that hearing the CEO of Apple is proudly gay could be a psychological asset for someone struggling to come to terms with who they are.
“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 writes. “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
The entire essay is certainly worth a read, but this paragraph about how his experience has made him a stronger, more understanding person is particularly powerful:
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. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.