Microsoft CEO Nadella Apologises for Comments on Women

Microsoft's chief executive officer, Satya Nadella said Thursday that he was wrong in suggesting that women don't need to ask for a raise and should have faith in the system.

While speaking at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Phoenix, Arizona, Nadella was asked to give his advice to women who have difficulty in asking for a raise.

"It's not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along," Nadella said, reports Reuters.

"Because that's good karma," Nadella continued. "It'll come back because somebody's going to know that's the kind of person that I want to trust."

His comments was immediately challenged by Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and a member of Microsoft's board. Klawe said that Nadella's perspective on the topic was one of the very few things that she disagreed with him.

Nadella's remarks also created an uproar online, with many people criticising him on Twitter. Nadella then apologized by posting a memo to Microsoft employees on the company's website.

In the memo, Nadelala said that his answer to the question was completely wrong and that he believes that men and women should get equal pay for equal work.

"And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it's deserved, Maria's advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask," he said, reports the Associated Press.

According to a date released by Microsoft, only 29 percent of the company's more than  100,000 employees are women.