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Tim Cook comes out: 7 milestones for gay rights in the corporate world

When Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly stated that he is 'proud to be gay' in an essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, he made a point to acknowledge that he wouldn't have been able to do so a few decades before. Here’s a look at seven milestones for the LGBT community in the business world.

4. Chevron

Ben Margot/AP/File
A Chevron flag flies over the Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif.

  • By Karis Hustad and Schuyler Velasco Staff writers

What: First American oil company to offer same-sex benefits

Oil companies aren't strangers to shrewd business choices, and in 1997 Chevron decided it was in its best interest to offer domestic-partner benefits to its employees. This made it the first American oil company to offer same-sex benefits.

It should be noted that Chevron didn't make the decision entirely on its own, but rather adopted the policy after San Francisco passed an ordinance that all companies doing business in the city had to offer equal benefits to employees’ partners. However, the move motivated other oil industry titans, including those operating outside California, to follow suit – Shell, BP, and Mobil soon offered equal-parner benefits to employees.

In 2013, ExxonMobil (which did not include Mobil’s LGBT-friendly policies when the two companies merged) extended benefits to same-sex couples to stay updated with the Treasury Department’s ruling that legally married same-sex couples will be treated as married for tax purposes.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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