Satya Nadella, the Microsoft chief executive officer, has said women don’t need to ask for a raise and should instead put their trust in the system – one that at technology companies is overwhelmingly male.

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.

His interviewer, Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College and a Microsoft director, told him she disagreed, drawing cheers from the audience. She suggested women do their homework on salary information and then practice how to ask with people they trust.

After getting blasted on Twitter for his remarks, Nadella tweeted: “Was inarticulate re how women should ask for raise. Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias.”

Was inarticulate re how women should ask for raise. Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias #GHC14 — Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) October 9, 2014

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.

But his comments at the event, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, underscored why many see technology companies as workplaces that are difficult to navigate or even unfriendly for women and minorities. Tech companies, particularly the engineering ranks, are overwhelmingly male, white and Asian.

Criticised for their lack of diversity, major companies say they are trying to address the problem with programmes such as employee training sessions and by participating in initiatives meant to introduce girls to coding.

Twenty-nine percent of Microsoft’s employees are women, according to figures the company has released this month. Its technical and engineering staff and its management are 17% female. That is roughly comparable to diversity data released by other big technology companies this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

