“Knowing and having faith that the system … that might be one of the additional super powers, that quite frankly, that women who don’t ask for raises have… because that’s good karma. It will come back.”—Nadella, at the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference

“I’m absolutely reeling,” said Rachel Sklar, who in 2010 founded Change the Ratio, a group focused on increasing visibility for women in tech. “He put to words the massive fear women have in asking for raises and told them to trust in a system that is proven to be broken.”

Karma doesn’t pay the bills. Women of Microsoft should collectively demand pay equity. @satyanadella

— Carmen Hudson (@peopleshark) October 10, 2014

Nadella also said he would “not fall for the crutch of the supply-side excuse” of women in tech, and that Microsoft was attempting to improve, despite recently released Microsoft diversity numbers that were similarly dismal to most tech companies. He advised women to be persistent in breaking into the industry.

I wonder what the percentage was when I was at Microsoft?

Dear @satyanadella: I never asked for a raise, but I did get sexually harassed. http://t.co/nZfpM6tlMd Microsoft Design 2003-2008

— Angela Glass (@Ang) October 11, 2014

Wanna hire me? I was already in the industry.

Here’s my history, and my resume.

I never asked for a raise, but I did get sexually harassed by my manager at Microsoft.

I was so nice. I kept my mouth shut, and celebrated the day that I could no longer sue my former employer.

Maybe it would feel like life would move on?

But it sucked year over year to find out on LinkedIn that HE was still there.

@Baxley I have not only never asked for a raise, I have a tendency to work for free or less because I don’t think knowledge has a price.

— Molly E. Holzschlag (@mollydotcom) October 11, 2014

I never asked for a raise at Microsoft.

And they had the audacity to tell me that my performance was not affected by the manager who—THEY FOUND—sexually harassed me the entire time I reported to him.

Today I’m tearing through boxes of old memories to find that memo from Microsoft HR.

A life lived in boxes is coming unpacked.

Related posts:

Nadella at 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Microsoft: On Karma and Protecting the Innocent To Thy Own Self, Do Not Be Truest