In response to a question about pay raises, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that women shouldn’t ask for them.

During a panel at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference on Oct. 9, the new Microsoft CEO said that women should have “faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along.” He also said that women who do not ask for raises have “superpowers” and will receive “good karma.”

As the CEO of a Fortune 100 company and a leader within the tech industry, Nadella should educate himself about the gender wage gap to help combat it. Not only that, but his comments could make some women feel as if they should keep quiet about what they think they deserve. The technology world is already unwelcome to women, and his comments contribute to that.

His advice is indicative of a common misconception about how the gender wage gap works. When a man and a woman have a similar background and do a similar job, but a woman is underpaid, this is the equivalent of saying that she is less valuable because of her gender. If a woman is doing the same work as a man, at the same level, she should be paid the same.

Nadella’s comments also make it clear that he does not fully understand the gender wage gap as well as the many forms it can take on. Women do not have the luxury of trusting a system that is skewed toward men. Maybe a man can avoid asking for a raise and instead trust that his work will be appreciated, but for women, waiting for their achievements to be noticed can often result in being underpaid.

The CEO’s remarks also reflect on the absence of women within the tech world. According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, in 2013 women held 57 percent of all professional occupations in the U.S., yet only made up 26 percent of the tech industry. Perhaps if there were more women in this occupation, he would better understand how they are affected by the wage gap.

During the panel, moderator Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and a member of Microsoft’s board of directors, disagreed with Nadella’s advice and instead told attendees to “do your homework,” instead of trusting the system.

After a slew of angry tweets and being featured on shows like Good Morning America, Nadella eventually came to understand Klawe’s perspective. Late at night on Oct. 9, in an email to Microsoft employees, Nadella apologized for his remarks, saying, “I answered that question completely wrong.”

He also changed his opinion to support Klawe’s advice saying, “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.”

In an industry where women are a rarity, a tech CEO should be telling women to put themselves out there and break down barriers, not passively wait to be noticed for their hard work. Telling women to stay quiet about wages is not a way to bring more diversity into the technology world.

Nadella — and any other leaders in the tech industry — should do their research before speaking about what women should do.

Mandisa Shields is a sophomore  newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @mandisashields.

Published on October 16, 2014 at 12:02 am