A public figure is called out and the post is deleted and a “statement” is issued. Is this an apology or perfunctory nonsense? The apology starts with, “it wan’t my intent.” What’s more sincere is, “this incident has led me to examine my belief system in search of why I felt this was appropriate in this context.” That’s the apology, it’s work. An apology follows remorse for an action while a statement means “oops.”
This week marked nine years when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in reference to women, not asking for a raise is good karma.
Nadella spoke on Thursday at an event for women in computing held in Phoenix. He was asked to give his advice to women who are uncomfortable requesting a raise.
“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 answered. Not asking for raise, he added, was “good karma” that would help a boss realise the employee could be trusted and should have more responsibility.
Later, he sent an email to all Microsoft employees saying he had “answered the question completely wrong”:
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.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: women, don’t ask for a raise
I would argue there was never an apology, just a statement. A statement in which “the industry” is the blame and no acknowledgement that perhaps in an interview for an event to boost women in tech, that would not be the thing to say.
I suppose there are various reactions to this. Some may say, well, that was 9 years ago.It’s really simple, tech does not value diverse teams and believe that different perspectives make a better product. Leadership can have such missteps and continue without an acknowledgmenet that there is a core women are inconsequential. Whilst companies can set targets and present vanity metrics, there is no penalty.
This week, consider the apology versus the statement and what they mean. Are we too quick to not require and expect work to be done? Or, do we really ignore all of it?
Balancing on Unstable Surfaces 