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Satya NadellaNadella told women not to ask for raises, citing 'good karma' at Grace Hopper conference

At the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Nadella advised women to trust the system rather than ask for raises, saying it was 'good karma.' He apologized hours later, calling his answer 'completely wrong' and affirming support for equal pay.

Scoring Impact

TopicDirectionRelevanceContribution
DEI Programs-againstprimary-1.00
Overall incident score =-0.590

Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.59)

Evidence (2 signals)

Context Legal Action Nov 6, 2019 documented

8,000+ female Microsoft employees appealed pay discrimination class action decision

More than 8,000 female Microsoft employees appealed a decision not to grant them collective legal right to sue for pay discrimination, claiming top management knew about the pay gap but failed to fix it. Expert testimony cited a 6% pay gap between men and women at Microsoft.

Confirms Statement Oct 9, 2014 verified

Nadella said women should have faith in karma rather than ask for raises at Grace Hopper

At the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Nadella advised women not to ask for raises, saying trusting the system was 'good karma.' He apologized hours later, calling his answer 'completely wrong.'

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