[HLUG] Mircosoft put their foot in it

[Julian Robbins]

I'd read about this but didn't know it happened at a conference celebrating
woman in computing !

Also a nice article about Grace Hopper who is mentioned here in Linux Voice
a few issues back

Julian
On 11 Oct 2014 21:23, "Dave Winterton" <davidwinterton at snail-mail.net>
wrote:

>
> Just for those who think M/S ride rough shod over everyone
> This is causing a little stir over the pond.
>
> What's the opposite of leaning in? Having "faith" in a system that has
> historically undervalued and underpaid women, that's what.
>
> Such were the wise words of advice from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft,
> at a conference celebrating women in computing. When asked what women
> who are uncomfortable asking for promotions should do, Nadella said:
>
> 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.
> That, I think, might be one of the additional superpowers that, quite
> frankly, women who don't ask for a raise have. Because that's good
> karma. It'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 efficiency,
> things catch up.
>
> Maria M Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and a Microsoft board
> member who has been a prominent advocate for women in tech had
> previously gushed about Nadella throughout the conference, but when she
> heard this response she took pause. "This is one of the very few things
> I disagree with you on," she said to an outpouring of applause from the
> audience.
>
> Not surprisingly, Nadella's comment received a firestorm of criticism
> after the conference for its sexist implications. Asking women to "have
> faith" and stay silent all while producing great work in the hopes of
> eventually being rewarded for this "good behavior" plays on tired gender
> stereotypes.
>
> Read between the lines and you'll see that what Nadella is really saying
> is: be the kind of woman society tells you to be. Show us you can be
> trusted and are deserving of more responsibility by being silent and
> patient, and we will reward you one day when we see fit. Asking women to
> fall into these stereotypical boxes with the promise of a reward (a
> reward for doing their job well, a reward that their male counterparts
> don't have to ask for but are given freely) is incredibly insulting.
>
> Now lets look at the opposite side of the coin for a minute. For men,
> being silent would likely show disinterest or indifference. For men,
> asking for more money would be seen as confident and bold, not a sign of
> impatience or acting inappropriately. Men don't have to sit around
> waiting to be rewarded for their hard work because they get fairly
> compensated when they walk through the door.
>
> And that's a fact. Last year women were paid 78 cents for every dollar
> men were paid. In computer science the numbers are more favorable - a
> woman makes 89 percent of what men make when controlling for age, race,
> hours and education. The field however has largely favored men, who at
> Microsoft make up 71 percent of the workforce.
>
> Due to this wage gap, every year women lose an average of $11,000
> dollars. That amounts to about $500,000 over a woman's lifetime.
> Clearly, having faith in the system hasn't worked. That's why the
> National Women's Law Center launched the Equal Pay Back Project which
> kicked off this week with a video featuring comedian Sarah Silverman.
>
> Despite controversy the campaign has faced for being transphobic (in the
> video Sarah Silverman decides to undergo gender reassignment surgery so
> she can received equal pay), the issue of the wage gap needs to be
> seriously addressed. In the face of this inequality, Nadella's comment
> is even more insulting. Women have been fighting for equal pay for 50
> years and yet we still come up short across industries. Women of color
> face even steeper disparities, and trans women even more so.
>
> Seems that after sharing his terrible advice, Nadella has been schooled
> on the ABCs of the wage gap and consequently sent an email to Microsoft
> employees admitting that he answered the question about what women
> should do when they aren't comfortable asking for pay raises "completely
> wrong." He continued saying:
>
> 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.
> --
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