14 DAY TRIAL // In a rare move, Apple’s chief executive officer has written an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, addressing US senators regarding the country’s pending Employment Nondiscrimination Act.
A U.S. Senate vote on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act is scheduled for today.
Cook took some time this weekend to write an op-ed for the WSJ to provide senators with Apple’s own view on discrimination in the workplace, and how it’s imperative that this mindset needs to change.
Cook says, “As we see it, embracing people’s individuality is a matter of basic human dignity and civil rights. It also turns out to be great for the creativity that drives our business.”
At Apple (surely at other companies too), people are proud of what they are, what they do, and how they do it.
The Cupertino giant is not only proud of that, but it offers it as a perfect example that treating everyone with dignity paves the way for a flourishing business, and therefore a flourishing economy.
“We’ve found that when people feel valued for who they are, they have the comfort and confidence to do the best work of their lives.”
Cook continues, saying, “Apple’s antidiscrimination policy goes beyond the legal protections U.S. workers currently enjoy under federal law, most notably because we prohibit discrimination against Apple’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.”
“A bill now before the U.S. Senate would update those employment laws, at long last, to protect workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” writes the Apple CEO.
Apple thus urges senators to support the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, with Cook adding, “we challenge the House of Representatives to bring it to the floor for a vote.”
Editor’s note What do you do when you can’t convince people to do something by asking them politely? You pass a law, of course. A law that prohibits them from allowing the reptilian brain to do their thinking.