“What Tim Cook [pictured] did yesterday is fantastic but he alone cannot change the world,” said Karoline Vinsrgg, consultant and head of diversity at executive search firm Egon Zehnder. 

While Vinsrgg told Recruiter Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s announcement that he was proud to be gay was a “turning point”, she said diversity at the top of organisations would depend on commitment from diverse people and their companies, educational institutions, the government, executive search firms and the media.

Vinsrgg added that although being gay was not a big issue lower down in organisations, homosexuality was not widely visible or openly talked about within the executive communities. 

She told Recruiter: “I think maybe this is actually a turning point, that someone like [Cook], who is a CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, can go out and be so brave.” She added: “Whether it is gender diversity, sexual orientation or ethnicity the importance of role models is very important.” 

In his letter to financial news service Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook wrote: “I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it.” 

He added: “Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race or gender. I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I’m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.” 

In a press statement, Suki Sandhu, CEO of OUTstanding, a not-for-profit professional network for LGBT executives, said: “This is amazing news. There is no stronger diversity message to send than the CEO of the world’s most valuable company saying it makes sense to be open and authentic about who you are in the workplace. Coming hot on the heels of the appointment of Christopher Bailey as the first openly gay CEO of a FTSE 100 company [Burberry], it shows that attitudes are changing.”

He added, though, that Cook and Bailey were in a tiny minority. “When conservative estimates put the percentage of UK adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) at 6%, it seems crazy that so few business leaders are open about their sexuality.”

Sandhu said that while there had been “huge strides” in terms of diversity and equality, there was clear evidence that homophobia still persists in the workplace in the form of harassment and unequal pay. 

“These factors undoubtedly create a perception for many gay people that it is safer to stay in the closet if they want to get on at work. Who wants to feel they will be held back in their career because of who they are?” he said. 

Writing further in his letter to Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook explains: “For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, 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.”

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