NEW DELHI: Amid Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella's gaffe on linking pay hike for women to 'good karma', research shows that a considerable pay gap emerges between men and women staff in Indian IT sector over time, despite they normally starting at similar levels.

Speaking at a conference on women in technology sector, Nadella said last week in the U.S. that "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."

"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," he had said.

This created a furore, including on social media platforms, and Nadella promptly termed his comments as "inarticulate" and "completely wrong". He tweeted and also issued a memo to Microsoft employees to explain his position.

"Although it's unfortunate that a senior leader like Nadella made such comments, it's commendable that he quickly realised his mistake and issued a swift and sincere apology," Catalyst India WRC Executive Director Shachi Irde said.

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