Microsoft CEO Tells Women Not to Ask For a Raise at Women in Tech Event ⇥ valleywag.gawker.com

Speaking of Microsoft and diversity, here’s Nitasha Tiku of Valleywag:

What Nadella apologists (including Nadella himself) don’t seem to get is that his language and phrasing are not the issue. The issue is that in an unguarded moment, the CEO of a major technology corporation said he thinks the current system is efficient and that women eventually get appropriately compensated, despite the persistent wage gap. That doesn’t even address getting a job offer from Microsoft, which is 70 percent male.

First, I’m linking to Valleywag, so I already feel dirty. Then, Tiku goes ahead and uses the word “apologists”. But beneath that film of grossness, this is damning. It’s also, strangely, honest — this is truly what is engrained in the culture of the industry in the Valley, in particular.

Happily, Nadella apparently saw the error in his words:

Toward the end of the interview, Maria asked me what advice I would offer women who are not comfortable asking for pay raises. I answered that question completely wrong.

This, too, is refreshingly honest.

But all of this is lip service. It means only a fraction of actually doing something.