Satya Nadella Tells Women Not To Ask For A Raise: Microsoft CEO Says Not Asking Will Bring 'Good Karma,' Has Since Apologized For Being 'Inarticulate' [PHOTO]

This past Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made a big faux pax while speaking at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Arizona. According to Cross Cut, while responding to a question about advice for women who don't feel comfortable asking for raises, he stated, "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."

He went on to say, "And that I think that might be one of the additional superpowers that quite frankly women who don't ask for raises have. Because that's good karma, that'll come back. Because somebody's going to know that's the kind of person that I want to trust; that's the kind of person that I want to really give more responsibility to; and in the long term, eventually things catch up."

Event moderator Maria Klawe, who is a member of Microsoft's board of directors as well as the President of Harvey Mudd College, did not cut Nadella off. She let him finish what he was saying, but promptly afterwards proceeded to tell him about the time, as Dean of Engineering at Princeton, she found out she was making $50,000 less than she should have been. Ouch.

Unsurprisingly, the comments Nadella made during the event sparked outrage and he has since apologized for his words. According to BBC, Nadella wrote in an e-mail to staff that he answered the question "completely wrong" and "wholeheartedly" supports programs to close the pay gap between men and women.

The e-mail went as follows: "Maria asked me what advice I would offer women who are not comfortable asking for pay raises. I answered that question completely wrong. Without a doubt, I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe 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."

Nadella also tweeted that he was "inarticulate" in his answer about how women should ask for a pay increase.