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If I may put a bit of a cultural spin on this, his comment sort of reflects the culture in India, where a vast majority of people do not feel comfortable simply

If I may put a bit of a cultural spin on this, his comment sort of reflects the culture in India, where a vast majority of people do not feel comfortable simply asking for a raise. Most people (men and women) essentially follow the strategy that Nadella suggested, to work harder and believe that you will be rewarded for it eventually. I'm not in any way suggesting that this is an effective strategy (especially for women), but it might explain his comment somewhat. Great apology, though.

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- benjaminButton 12y ago
  Settle down, no need to sensationalize. That's not what even the OPs comment meant. Also, no, not everyone in India treats women like "chattel" (heck most of them worship them) and I'm pretty sure, neither does Satya.
  - neilellis 12y ago
    I am not commenting on Satya in this reply, just the idea that either a) all women are treated like chattel in India or b) no women are treated like chattel in India. Neither of which of course is true. Women's lack of equality in India, compared to the UK, are in general I'm afraid pretty appalling, when I was younger I nearly moved to India for a while. But my wife who is of Indian descent was extremely reluctant because of they way they are treated in India compared to the UK. The rights of women are minimal compared to men. That's just the reality. On the other hand they are allowed out of the house unescorted, so as always it's a sliding scale. Don't get me wrong India is home to some of the loveliest, kindest and gentlest people I have ever met. On average I'm pretty certain I'm a much less decent human being than the average Indian. It is a country which has many great qualities we can learn from over here, just not respect and equality for women. And that omission, like the caste system, is very saddening. But hey I have a huge log in my eye :-) People worship their cars, personally I wouldn't equate desire with respect.
    - benjaminButton 12y ago
      Again, it's hard to generalize but for the modern woman, I think it's no worse than what you'd find in the western world. Until last year, the most powerful politician in India was an Italian-Indian woman (again this might not mean anything but it shows that it's not ingrained into people). Also, given the population, you might hear more cases of inequality. But please don't let that affect your general view of India. The caste system, I'm very sorry to say this, your ancestors are partly to blame for as well. Like we all know divide and conquer goes a long way in sorting out issues :-). But it used to be societal classification based on one's occupation (and people were free to move across strata as well) which allowed for easy governance. Anyway, today it's pretty much non-existent and is more a class system than anything else (it's a corollary that the highest castes are the richest class today). However, have enough money? Even the highest caste member will not mind handing his daughter over.
      - neilellis 12y ago
        Have you been to India? The caste system predates the Buddha (500BC) btw. and is routed in Hindu culture. The British actually also exploited the difference between Muslims and Hindus, but again didn't create the difference. Yes the Raj used divide and conquer, but they used differences that had existed for thousands of years and still do.
        known 12y ago
        And https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India
    - jessedhillon 12y ago
      Dude, the distance from the east to the west of India is some 1200 miles, and north to south is around 2000 miles. The idea that you could describe the entire country in such simple cultural generalizations is as wrong as generalizing about people from LA and Kansas. Just the way you're talking about India is, while flattering, very uninformed. The US is also home to lovely and kind people, as well as people capable of monstrosity. The caste system is irrelevant in many parts of India -- it's not even a consideration! It's like not wanting to visit 1960s New York because, you know, all the lynching and the Jim Crow laws.
jacalata 12y ago
He has been in the US since college, for longer than some of his employees have been alive. I don't think that's a good excuse.
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  I'm inclined to agree with the GP. Attitudes about money, negotiation and status are formed early in life and while you can outgrow them it's difficult to shake them off entirely. I've been in the US nearly half my life (from Ireland originally) but I can't see myself getting used to that aspect of American business culture. My instinctive view is that if I'm you're employee and you're happy with my performance, it's your job to put your money where your mouth is, not mine to come to you asking for more. My compromise approach these days is that when someone solicits my help I ask them how much they've budgeted for the work they want done/ If the answer is not a positive sum, then I ask them what area they're willing to accept and equivalent loss of productivity.
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benjaminButton 12y ago
Settle down, no need to sensationalize. That's not what even the OPs comment meant. Also, no, not everyone in India treats women like "chattel" (heck most of them worship them) and I'm pretty sure, neither does Satya.
- neilellis 12y ago
  I am not commenting on Satya in this reply, just the idea that either a) all women are treated like chattel in India or b) no women are treated like chattel in India. Neither of which of course is true. Women's lack of equality in India, compared to the UK, are in general I'm afraid pretty appalling, when I was younger I nearly moved to India for a while. But my wife who is of Indian descent was extremely reluctant because of they way they are treated in India compared to the UK. The rights of women are minimal compared to men. That's just the reality. On the other hand they are allowed out of the house unescorted, so as always it's a sliding scale. Don't get me wrong India is home to some of the loveliest, kindest and gentlest people I have ever met. On average I'm pretty certain I'm a much less decent human being than the average Indian. It is a country which has many great qualities we can learn from over here, just not respect and equality for women. And that omission, like the caste system, is very saddening. But hey I have a huge log in my eye :-) People worship their cars, personally I wouldn't equate desire with respect.
  - benjaminButton 12y ago
    Again, it's hard to generalize but for the modern woman, I think it's no worse than what you'd find in the western world. Until last year, the most powerful politician in India was an Italian-Indian woman (again this might not mean anything but it shows that it's not ingrained into people). Also, given the population, you might hear more cases of inequality. But please don't let that affect your general view of India. The caste system, I'm very sorry to say this, your ancestors are partly to blame for as well. Like we all know divide and conquer goes a long way in sorting out issues :-). But it used to be societal classification based on one's occupation (and people were free to move across strata as well) which allowed for easy governance. Anyway, today it's pretty much non-existent and is more a class system than anything else (it's a corollary that the highest castes are the richest class today). However, have enough money? Even the highest caste member will not mind handing his daughter over.
    - neilellis 12y ago
      Have you been to India? The caste system predates the Buddha (500BC) btw. and is routed in Hindu culture. The British actually also exploited the difference between Muslims and Hindus, but again didn't create the difference. Yes the Raj used divide and conquer, but they used differences that had existed for thousands of years and still do.
      - known 12y ago
        And https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India
  - jessedhillon 12y ago
    Dude, the distance from the east to the west of India is some 1200 miles, and north to south is around 2000 miles. The idea that you could describe the entire country in such simple cultural generalizations is as wrong as generalizing about people from LA and Kansas. Just the way you're talking about India is, while flattering, very uninformed. The US is also home to lovely and kind people, as well as people capable of monstrosity. The caste system is irrelevant in many parts of India -- it's not even a consideration! It's like not wanting to visit 1960s New York because, you know, all the lynching and the Jim Crow laws.

jacalata 12y ago

He has been in the US since college, for longer than some of his employees have been alive. I don't think that's a good excuse.

anigbrowl 12y ago
I'm inclined to agree with the GP. Attitudes about money, negotiation and status are formed early in life and while you can outgrow them it's difficult to shake them off entirely. I've been in the US nearly half my life (from Ireland originally) but I can't see myself getting used to that aspect of American business culture. My instinctive view is that if I'm you're employee and you're happy with my performance, it's your job to put your money where your mouth is, not mine to come to you asking for more. My compromise approach these days is that when someone solicits my help I ask them how much they've budgeted for the work they want done/ If the answer is not a positive sum, then I ask them what area they're willing to accept and equivalent loss of productivity.

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