Indra Nooyi reveals she has 'never, ever, ever' asked for raise; Read details

"I never asked my board for additional money," Nooyi stated in an interview with the New York Times.

New Delhi, First Published Oct 7, 2021, 2:47 PM IST | Last Updated Oct 7, 2021, 2:47 PM IST

Former Pepsi Co. CEO Indra Nooyi claimed she's never asked for a raise and once turned one down during the financial crisis. She's one of the only women of colour to have to lead a big public US corporation. "I've never, ever, ever asked for a raise," Nooyi told the New York Times Magazine last week. Calling it 'repulsive', she said she couldn't fathom working for someone and complaining that her compensation was insufficient. There are just 31 female CEOs in the S&P 500, and that figure was much lower when Nooyi stepped down in 2018. Those who do are likely to earn less. Nooyi did not rank at the top of executive pay at public businesses in the United States in her final year on the job — most women did not.

Oracle Corp.'s Safra Catz was the highest-paid female CEO on Bloomberg's executive salary list that year, placing 33rd. "I never asked my board for additional money," Nooyi stated in an interview with the New York Times. She added that: "In fact, the board handed me a raise one year, and I replied, 'I don't want it.' The board asked, 'Why not?' It was just after the financial crisis, and I told them, 'I don't want the increase.'

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When Nooyi was still at Pepsi in the early 2000s, a body of research showed that women did not negotiate their salary as frequently as males, which might have contributed to the gender pay gap. In her book "Lean In," Sheryl Sandberg famously advised women to ask and they would receive. Since then, McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org research has revealed that women are just as engaged in the process as males. However, there was a catch: they were less likely to obtain them, which might explain their initial reluctance.

Nooyi presently serves on the board of Amazon.com Inc. and has just written a book titled "My Life in Full." CEO compensation packages have only increased during her stint at Pepsi, and only five of the country's top 100 CEOs were women last year.

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