Many Women At Microsoft Make Less Money Than Men With The Same Title, According To Glassdoor

Women at Microsoft in technical jobs are by-and-large making less money than men with the same job title, according to employees sharing salary information with Glassdoor.

Microsoft isn't alone here. Women at other prominent tech companies like Facebook and Google are in the same boat.

Job hunting site Glassdoor dug into the female/male pay discrepancy after Microsoft CEO Nadella opened his mouth last week and stuck his foot in it.

To recap: Nadella has apologized for remarks made at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing last week.

That's when he offered this career advice, "It's not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise." This is advice that he, himself, has adhered to, which is why he shared it, he said.

And we've heard it before from other successful men. The idea goes like this: Keep your head down and work hard and eventually someone will notice.

That's a noble sentiment and it should work for everyone. Currently, however, women are often not paid as well as men for the same work. Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg has been encouraging women to "lean in," step up and become more forceful in their own careers, including negotiating for pay.

Nadella said that he looked into whether Microsoft is paying women the same as men and is satisfied that it is. In a memo to employees, he said:

Although it fluctuates by a bit each year, the overall differences in base pay among genders and races (when we consider level and job title) is consistently within 0.5% at Microsoft. For example, last year women in the US at the same title and level earned 99.7% of what men earned at the same title and level. In any given year, any particular group may be slightly above or slightly below 100 percent."

So Glassdoor looked at 14 job titles at Microsoft and found that women reported earning less, on average, in 12 of them. Women earned less than men in four of out five job titles at Google, too.

Nadella has promised to make sure that Microsoft improves its track record with women on every level. Microsoft has a chance to really lead on this. Plus, CEOs at the other tech companies can look at their data and make necessary changes, too.

Here's the Glassdoor data.

He can adhere to his own philosophy. He can notice. He can declare his female employees being paid less than than their male counterparts will be getting a raise. Without having to ask for it.