The boss of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, has apologised for remarks he made advising women not to ask for a pay rise but to have "faith in the system".
At a conference to celebrate women in technology, he suggested that women not asking for a rise was "good karma".
The comments sparked outrage and Mr Nadella has now apologised.
In an email to staff, he said he answered the question "completely wrong" and "wholeheartedly" supported programmes to close the pay gap.
At the conference, called the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, he said: "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 said.