Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella may now have gone back on his statement that women at workplaces should depend on 'karma' to get a pay hike or be recognised at their respective workplace, but the damage has been done.
Nadella certainly has made a misguided statement -- one that many are not going to forget in a long time to come -- and being the boss of the one of the largest technology company surely won't help.
The India-born head of Microsoft even went on to say that the "superwomen" do not need to ask for a raise and just "have faith in the system". But here are seven reasons why Nadella is far from right:
- It is a fact that even though women have made giant leaps in the workplace since the 60s, statistics suggest that women still make 78 cents for each dollar a man earns.
- Further, it is still true that even though we claim to have broken all gender stereotypes, we still live in world where there is still a clear margin dividing what "women's work" is and what is deemed as a "man's job." The most common occupation for women today is still the same as it was 50 years ago -- secretary.
- According to a Psychology Today report, women worked for far more complicated reasons than just money. While money does play an important role, women also tend to stick on to a company that allows them to balance work and family.
- Noting the plight of women in tech companies, Dead Reckon, a female coder and gamer notes that being a woman means: "Always being different, always being the one who has to adapt, denying important parts of yourself just to get the chance to do your job. It's like being a stranger in a strange land, where you speak the language but nobody learns yours. That's why even women who do well in development end up leaving mid-career. "
- The fact that the directors of most of the largest listed companies are men doesn't help the cause of the women either.
- Even the figures from Microsoft found that there are mere 20% female employees.
Microsoft's top-board consists of 12 directors, out of which only two are women. While Nadella later backtracked from his comment, many on Twitter lambasted the Microsoft head for his statement made at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Phoenix.
Nadella reportedly also sent out an email to his staff clarifying his stand.
