Apple is known to be secretive about anything and everything that goes on within its company.  It really wasn’t until Steve Jobs’ biography that we discovered what happened behind the scenes at the tech powerhouse.  But, something new has been brought to the table.  It was recently publicly announced that Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is gay.  While his sexual orientation was never a concern to consumers, he has marked a major milestone for our progressive time.  Tim Cook is the first openly gay CEO of a major company.  This amazing event makes us then question, what’s Apple’s next move and what is this going to open up in today’s society?

Apple has been known to be tight-lipped when it comes to their personal stories.  According to the Washington Post, the company was even hesitant to speak about former CEO Steve Jobs’ cancer diagnosis.  But, the company is turning the industry’s world upside-down by taking bigger and bolder roles within social policy and politics.  Apple’s CEO and the company itself have received nothing but acclaim and praise for their newly released information. But how does this reflect on Apple?

Tim Cook represents the company in its entirety.  This means his values also are the values of the company itself.  While coming from a liberal town like the Silicon Valley in Northern California, this may be no problem for the tech powerhouse.  But, many people are questioning whether or not this will hurt not only Apple’s reputation, but Apple CEO Tim Cook himself.

Reporters from The New York Times don’t see any problems in Apple’s future.  Although countries that engage with Apple like Indonesia and Singapore have laws that punish homosexuality, Apple’s overall benefit to these countries overrides these feelings or resentment.  It seems that after so much secrecy from Steve Jobs as CEO, countries appreciate how Tim Cook runs Apple with an open door for ideas and partnerships.

This open-minded idea is refreshing to the tech world, one deeply rooted in its mechanic ways.  Tim Cook has now opened the door for other companies to express who they truly are without being judged by the people around them.  It seems as if our world is becoming more tolerant and accepting of new ideas and values.  So, thank you Tim Cook for helping better our world in more than one way.

For more information on the topic, check out the New York Times.