[raghavsethi]

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.

[jacalata]

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]

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.