Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella has apologized for a sexist remark he made.
During a conference for women in the tech industry, Satya Nadella advised women not to ask for raises. Instead, he told them to trust in karma and that employers would notice hard work and offer the raise freely, reports Daily News and Analysis.
Satya Nadella was called out by Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College and a Microsoft board member for his comment. The two talked about it on stage and it ended with an apology from Nadella. He also issued an apology via Twitter (TWTR) and in a memo to his employees, Daily News and Analysis notes.
Despite Satya Nadella apology, several people still took to Twitter to weigh in on his comment.
- “If women are hired at fair salary, raises aren’t needed to close the gap. We need to encourage women to ask for more.”
- “Correct approach to the gender pay gap is to assess the gap that exists within MS, then fix it. Then talk about trust.”
- “As a male in tech – if I never asked for a raise I would never receive one. ‘Expecting’ a raise is absolutely ridiculous.”
- “How about take gender out of the equation PERIOD! people should be judged on work only! Doing it any other way is sexist.”
- “So you’ve never asked for a raise or a promotion? Amazing.”
MSFT shares were down 2% as of Friday afternoon.
