Cook's courageous words signal sea change

Apple CEO Tim Cook's announcement that he is gay has provoked extremely divided online comments. The corporate world, and the world at large, will not be the same regarding gay issues after his courageous step.

When I moved from Argentina to the United States with my wife and daughter in 1971, I encountered a different world regarding individual rights. Although at that time there was widespread discrimination against homosexuals both in Argentina and in the US, both societies slowly became more tolerant regarding issues of sexual identity. In spite of progress, however, I was able to see, in several instances, the tremendous damage to personal relationships caused by both men and women trying to hide their true sexual tendency. I saw several homosexual men who, for fear of society's discrimination, created heterosexual families only to abandon them later and come out leading an openly homosexual life.

Both Argentina and the United States are relatively open to gay and lesbian rights issues.

Especially in the US, gays and lesbians are entitled to more legal rights. In October, the US government announced it would recognize same sex marriages in six more states, and earlier the Supreme Court snubbed appeals from several states where state-level bans on gay marriage had been deemed unconstitutional. These are important indicators that society in the US is becoming increasingly more plural and more aware of the rights of gays and lesbians.

This positive trend has resulted in homosexuality, once a career-destroying secret, coming out of the closet in American companies. Gay men and lesbians are rapidly forming employee groups to safeguard their rights.

US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order banning workplace discrimination against millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees of federal contractors and the federal government.