Tim Cook—Became first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, publicly advocating for LGBTQ+ rights
In October 2014, Tim Cook published an essay in Bloomberg Businessweek publicly coming out as gay, becoming the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He stated he hoped it would help LGBTQ+ youth struggling with their identity. Cook has since been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, urging states like Alabama to advance equality laws.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEI Programs | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| LGBTQ+ Rights | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.664 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Tim Cook published Bloomberg essay coming out as gay, first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO
On October 30, 2014, Tim Cook published an essay in Bloomberg Businessweek publicly coming out as gay, stating 'I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.' He said he hoped it would help LGBTQ+ youth struggling with identity and bullying.