• By
  • Hilary Rosen
Tim Cook at a Wall Street Journal conference on Monday.
Gary Fong

Amid the discussion about Tim Cook coming out, I was struck by this Fortune column suggesting that this information about the Apple CEO won’t be talked about after this news cycle. I certainly hope not. Mr. Cook has helped highlight a major workplace issue.

A May study by Human Rights Campaign found that 53% of LGBT workers hide who they are at work. And for good reason: In 29 states, workers can be fired for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.

Almost all of the publicity, and progress, around gay and lesbian issues the past few years has focused on marriage and marriage equality. Curiously, it is now possible to be married in several states where if you came to work the next day and announced you were married, you could be fired for being gay.

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Tim Cook knows this, and he knows that young LGBT people face particular fears. So he came out expressly to discuss the impact of being out and gay at work. Mr. Cook, known for being a workhorse, proved his effectiveness today. Using a business magazine column to share such personal information about his pride in his sexual orientation and his determination to make a difference with his life was a strategic call to arms to colleagues to be counted on the side of equality. Standing up as a business leader for policies that would allow all people to succeed, no matter who they love, is an endeavor filled with promise for hundreds of thousands of gay people who live in fear of being fired. It deserves more than a shrug by people without prejudice.

Mr. Cook’s column wasn’t overtly political, but the holdup here is all politics. The Employment Nondiscrimination Act–which he has publicly supported–passed the Senate last November. But House Speaker John Boehner has said he has no intention of bringing it to a vote.

Every young person in America should be able to have the same dream as Tim Cook. We could start by ensuring that all workplaces are free from legal discrimination.

Hilary Rosen is a Democratic strategist and a managing director of the political and communications firm SKDKnickerbocker. She was previously a Capitol Hill staffer and political director of HuffingtonPost.com and served 18 years as chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. She is on Twitter: @hilaryr.

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