Apple CEO Tim Cook will receive GLSEN’s “Champion Award,” for his ongoing commitment to fighting for LGBTQ rights. The organization is dedicated to creating safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth. The awards ceremony will take place on October 25 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Los Angeles.
Cook provided the following response to the honor:
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.
Cook has long been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, as well as inclusion and diversity for all groups. Apple’s website includes an “Inclusion & Diversity” section, where the company says it is its “greatest strength.”
Different together.
At Apple, we’re not all the same. And that’s our greatest strength. We draw on the differences in who we are, what we’ve experienced, and how we think. Because to create products that serve everyone, we believe in including everyone.
GLSEN has been championing LGBTQ issues in K-12 education since 1990, and their mission is to create safe and affirming schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.