Cook is the first CEO of an S&P 500 company to come out in public. It’s a watershed moment for the gay community, which still lacks protections against workplace discrimination in 29 states in the U.S.

Yet while a growing number of business leaders are now openly gay — including Burberry Group Plc CEO Christopher Bailey, Anthony Watson, Nike Inc.’s chief information officer and Robert Greenblatt, chairman at NBC Entertainment — others worry that coming out still carries a stigma… Gay employees instead are often expected to stay discreet with customers or clients.

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