As many are probably aware, Microsoft’s CEO recently said that women who don’t ask for raises will enjoy “good karma.” So, his negotiation advice seems to boil down to just don’t ask and you count on the universe rewarding you in this life (or the next).
As every reader of this blog knows, that advice is problematic on many levels. For me, the fact that someone in such a high position in such a key industry feels free to say something like this just highlights how far we still have to go.
The friend who forwarded a link with this story commented that “this guy must be hoping for a job on Mad Men and think it is the 1960s…or worse.” Indeed.
Unfortunately, this guy holds tremendous power. He later recanted and said he was “inarticulate.” I’m not sure what is a good way to say women shouldn’t ask for raises. Despite efforts to manage this latest public relations storm, I think we can count on only one thing changing: This guy will be more careful in the future who he says things like this to. It’s unlikely to change how he thinks, and, I’m guessing, who gets hired, promoted, or pay raises, at Microsoft.
For a nice short analysis on why these comments are such a problem see http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/10/living/microsoft-ceo-gender-gaffe-women-parents/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
As a student in Professor Cynthia Alkon’s ADR Survey class, one of the topics we covered was the role gender plays in negotiation behaviors. This article is the perfect example “social forces” constraining women in their professional lives and daily transactions. Regardless of whether the Microsoft CEO misspoke, the message that was communicated is one of common stereotype in society—women in the workforce should not be as assertive as their male counterparts. While societal pressures do not likely account for all gender differences in negotiation behavior, there is hard empirical evidence that differences do in fact exist.
In conducting research for their book, “Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide,” authors Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever unearthed some surprising statistics. For example, in one study concerning the starting salaries of graduate students, it was discovered that 57 percent of male students attempted to negotiate for more money after an initial offer was made, but by comparison, only 7 percent of female students attempted to negotiate. In subsequent laboratory experiments and studies, male subjects were found to initiate negotiations at rates from four to nine times higher than that of female subjects.
If we take the time to reflect and redirect in a positive way, this CEO’s statement may be more beneficial in the long-term than it was offensive in the short-term. First, it brings to national attention gender stereotypes and attitudes in the workforce that may place barriers on women. Second, it is instructive to both employers and employees. Employers should work to foster environments that are conducive to equal bargaining for all genders. Similarly, employees might recognize and overcome the “social forces” unnecessarily constraining their negotiation behaviors. The first step in overcoming societal barriers and stereotypes is to recognize that they exist.
Are we ignoring the hathi in the room? Perhaps this is a reflection of Satya Nadella”s cultural background.
Wow, I want to say that the CEO’s comments are shocking but I can’t. It just goes to show how much farther women still have to, and how much harder we have to work. I’m most focused on, as the attached article noted, that (some) women are already afraid to ask for raises and comments like these just are sure to discourage them even more. In terms of ADR, someone should try the “good karma” idea next time they are involved in a negotiation and see how well not asking for what they want works out.