Apple chief executive: ‘I’m proud to be gay’

Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay on Thursday, in an act that he said he hoped would give support to equality efforts around the country.  

“I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” he wrote in an op-ed in Bloomberg Businessweek.

{mosads}The announcement by the head of one of the world’s leading companies makes Cook perhaps the highest-profile openly gay business leader in the world, and adds a new voice to the debate in country’s evolving social and legal views on the rights of gay men and women.

The country has moved dramatically in the direction of greater equality in recent years, Cook wrote on Thursday, yet challenges remain.

He hoped that his op-ed would give others more confidence and security to feel comfortable with themselves.

“I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others,” he wrote. “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.”

The head of the tech titan has long been rumored to be gay, but has largely shrugged off the issue in the past.

Apple has “taken a strong stand” on equality issues, Cook wrote, both on a bill in Congress and on statewide issues in California and Arizona.

“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,” he wrote. “And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.”