"I am proud that I am gay"

The head of the Apple Corporation challenges the Hanjam

Tim Cook, the head of Apple Corporation, committed what not a single person of his position did before him. He published an essay in which he announced his non -traditional sexual orientation and expressed the hope that his example would help those who have problems trying to realize themselves, their sexuality, and inspire those who are ready to raise their vote in defense of equality.

“While I never hid my sexual orientation, I have not yet publicly spoke about it. Therefore, I will be completely frank: I am proud that I am gay, and I consider my orientation as the biggest gift given to me by God,” Tim Cook writes. Why is he, a person, as he himself admits, trying not to attract attention to his person, decided to resort to such a public action? Here is his own explanation: “I do not consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I got due to the self-sacrifice of others. Therefore, if the news that the head of the Apple corporation is gay will help someone who is trying to realize who he is, or to console those who feel lonely, or inspire those who are ready to raise their voice in defense of equality, then it will cost the loss of my right to the privacy of the private private. life ".

This recognition of one of the most famous business leaders in the world caused a violent reaction. Firstly, none of the leaders of the Cook level decided to openly openly announce their orientation, at least while they were at the helm of the largest corporations. Secondly, the publication of Tim Cook sounded like a manifesto, and many saw in the author of this essay a potential leader in movement for the equality of sexual minorities.

Until now, the hidden non -traditional sexual orientation was, by and large, a “skeleton in the closet” for any leader. The sudden exposure of a same-sex connection was preceded, for example, the political fall of the state governor of New Jersey Jim McGrivi and the corporate fall of the head of the BP Corporation John Brown. The number of "open" gays and lesbians in the highest political and corporate universal states, most likely, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In the business world, the situation is even worse than in the political. Someone calculated, for example, that among the leaders of companies on the Fortune 500 list, only five percent-African American, one percent-women, and there were no representatives of sexual minorities, at least those who do not hide their sexuality.

Many “captains” of business, commentators managed to react to the recognition of Tim Cook, they welcome the revelation of the head of Apple, predicting that it can actually help change the corporate culture. In an interview with The New York Times, the head of the Goldman Sachs investment bank Lloyd Blancfain says that the example of Cook, the head of the company, symbolizing the United States, the best in American business, will have a powerful effect. People do not suspect how difficult it is to take such a step, says Blancfain, this is a courageous step.

One of the former Ford leaders Allan Gilmore calls "unthinkable" a similar step just a few years ago. "Companies do not want managers who attract undesirable attention." Tim Cook himself said that before announcing the world to his orientation, he consulted with the chairman of the board of directors of Apple and received, in fact, a sanction from the board of directors. Such a prudence of the head of the corporation may be useful. Some observers notice that Cook’s recognition and his new image may be condemned by unexpected consequences for the company itself. For example, Apple is negotiating the sale of its products in Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death. How will they relate to the idea of the need to conduct business with a prominent gay in several dozen countries, where same -sex relations relate to criminal offenses? And how Tim Cook himself will behave in such situations, from which many are now waiting for the demonstration of their loudly declared position.

Even in the United States, as many commentators say, Cook's example is extremely important. Apple Corporation, as well as its brothers in Silicon Valley, has long been known as the perfect workplace where diversity is welcomed: both skin color and sexual orientation. “With his action, Tim Cook will give many companies to follow his example,” says Sylvia Hughlet, the head of the Center for Talent Innovation, the head of the Washington Post, in an interview with the newspaper.

Despite the more and more tolerant attitude to sexual minorities in the United States and the legalization of same-sex marriages in thirty-two states, 53 percent of representatives of the LGBT community, according to the survey, hide their orientation from employers and colleagues for work, because they are not sure what the reaction will be. According to the human rights organization "American Council of Civil Freedom", in twenty -nine states, the employer can dismiss the employee for the act, similar to what Tim Cook committed.