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GLSEN, an organization dedicated to creating safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth, has announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook will receive its "Champion Award" for his ongoing commitment to fighting for LGBTQ rights. The awards ceremony will take place on October 25 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Los Angeles.

tim-cook-wwdc19.jpg

Cook provided the following statement:
I am grateful to GLSEN for this honor and for all their work to ensure the LGBTQ community is treated with dignity and respect. At Apple, our commitment to inclusion helps us do our best work, each and every day. Innovation depends on openness to new ideas, a culture of curiosity and a climate free from shame and stigma -- that's true not only true for Apple, I believe it's true for everyone.
Since becoming CEO, Cook has strongly pushed for inclusion and diversity, which Apple refers to as its "greatest strength" on its website. "To create products that serve everyone, we believe in including everyone."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook to Receive 'Champion Award' for His Ongoing Commitment to LGBTQ Rights
 
I don't admire everything about Tim, but I was an 18 year old in a dark place struggling with a lot of self hatred over my sexuality when he first started really openly talking about his - It helped me. To see another person who was Gay but still successful and in a small but important way told me that things might be ok and get better.. Don't understate the power of role models for struggling LGBTQ+ youth.
 
Since Tim Cook took over, Apple has championed human rights more than they ever had before. They publish annual reports on subcontracted worker conditions abroad, they stand up for their own employees rights admirably, they’re on 100% renewable energy, they work hard to reduce/eliminate waste and toxic materials and to recycle... They weren’t like this back in the Steve Jobs days.

I’d like to see them improve their repairability on some products (replaceable batteries in AirPods), but otherwise they’ve kind of taken up the “don’t be evil” motto that Google got rid of back in 2015.

I’m proud to be an Apple customer, they’re a pretty dang great American company.
 
This is in no way a troll post, I'm genuinely curious what Tim Cook has done to "fighting for LGBTQ rights". I know he talks about it in interviews and I'm sure he donates to organizations but I'm not exactly sure what that quantifies as. Sounds like he's an activist by proxy and not really on the ground. But hey it's a great headline.
 
This is in no way a troll post, I'm genuinely curious what Tim Cook has done to "fighting for LGBTQ rights". I know he talks about it in interviews and I'm sure he donates to organizations but I'm not exactly sure what that quantifies as. Sounds like he's an activist by proxy and not really on the ground. But hey it's a great headline.
Just him coming out was a huge step in advocacy. Any well known person who is respected in their field who comes out and says “This is who I am, I’m not ashamed” is going to have a positive impact on the people struggling with hostile attitudes in their families, their faiths, their communities.
 
This is in no way a troll post, I'm genuinely curious what Tim Cook has done to "fighting for LGBTQ rights". I know he talks about it in interviews and I'm sure he donates to organizations but I'm not exactly sure what that quantifies as. Sounds like he's an activist by proxy and not really on the ground. But hey it's a great headline.
Mirroring what GrumpyMom said, the biggest benefit to the community is being a positive role model for LGBTQ youth. As a gay man in my late 30s, growing up in the 80s and 90s there were very few (if any) positive gay role models, with most depictions of gay people in the media being very stereotypical. I honestly believed as a teenager that my career opportunities would be very limited if I didn't remain deep in the closet.
 
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