"Inarticulate" Microsoft boss sticks his foot in it with equal pay comment (Update: he now apologises)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is furiously trying to backtrack after causing a storm with a comment on equal pay for men and women in the tech industry.

He said women who don't ask for pay rises are showing "good karma".

Several recent surveys have shown there's a 15% disparity between men and women's pay in the tech sector in the US.

Nadella was speaking at an equal rights conference. He was asked what women should do if they wanted to advance themselves but were not comfortable with asking for a rise.

"It's not really about asking for the raise," Nadella told the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing at the Anita Borg Institute in Arizona, "but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along."

He added that "women who don't ask for raises" have a "superpower ... because that's good karma, that'll come back ... that's the kind of person that I want to trust."

He has now tried to excuse himself on Twitter:

We think he means he hopes the pay gap will disappear so it's no longer a reason for asking for a pay rise.

Update, October 10: And Nadella has finally apologised for his remarks. Well, to be more precise, Microsoft PR department has moved in and has issued a statement attributed to Nadella, who obviously can't be trusted to send out his own tweets. 

The statement - sent as an email to all employees - basically says he feels women should ask for a pay rise if they feel they're being discriminated against.  Phew!

"All – Today I was interviewed on stage by Maria Klawe at the Grace Hopper Conference – I encourage you to watch the video. It was great to spend time with so many women passionate about technology. I was honored to be a part of it and I left the conference energized and inspired. 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. 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. I said I was looking forward to the Grace Hopper Conference to learn, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson. I look forward to speaking with you at our monthly Q&A next week and am happy to answer any question you have".