Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Microsoft CEO in Hot Water over Comment; Fall of Grace for Reverend; What You Need to Know about Ebola; Frayed Nerves as Dow Plummeted Yesterday; Malala Yousafzai Is Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Aired October 10, 2014 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is apologizing for making comments about pay equity in the workplace that didn't go over so well. He suggested women should not ask for pay raises but they should just trust the system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SATYA NADELLA, CEO, MICROSOFT: It's not really about asking about the raise but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along. And I think that might be one of the additional superpowers that quite frankly women who don't ask for a raise have because that's good karma. It will come back. Because somebody is going to know that's the kind of person I want to trust, that's the kind of person that I really want to give more responsibility to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Nadella tried to explain his controversial comments on Twitter saying he was, "inarticulate about how women should ask for a raise. Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias."

Joining here in New York to discuss the impact of Nadella's words, our CNN commentator, Mel Robbins; and CNN global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar.

Mel, you have been waiting to unleash.

(LAUGHTER)

We'll get to advice. Let's unleash first, shall we?

(LAUGHTER)

You go first.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: He's wearing a hoodie at a woman's conference, giving women advice.

(LAUGHTER) Secondly, can we talk about the system at Microsoft that women are supposed to trust where 70 percent of the global workforce is male. 83 percent of the leadership globally male. 13 of the 16 board of directors male. Ladies, karma put that in place, so unless he's a recruiter or lawyer negotiating on your behalf, you need to do this yourself.

(CROSSTALK)

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Call karma hotline. It's the whole tech industry. Of all industries I've covered, technology is one of the worst in terms of representation of women but also culture. I think it's funny. The hoodie is representative. It tends to be a young guy start up culture. It's a culture with a lot of people working 24/7. Many don't have families. They are copping that attitude. It's not one that's great for diversity.

KAYE: What about his apology? Is that enough?

ROBBINS: In a letter to Microsoft he said he was dead wrong. It is enough. What really -- words are cheap. We need to see deeds. Women everywhere need to understand something really fundamental, which is you have to do your research and understand what the pay ranges are and you also have to understand something fundamental, which is if you're not comfortable. And if you don't think you deserve it, you'll never convince somebody else that you do. And so you got to do the research and then you got to build a case and then open your mouth because karma won't do it for you because women make 25 to 30 cents on every dollar less than male counterparts. Do something. Ask for a raise.

FOROOHAR: Or get a counteroffer. Counteroffers are a great thing. Another thing women don't do is jump from job to job. I'm not saying you should be in a position for a year and look for the next thing necessarily but men are more willing to go out if they're not happy and get a counteroffer and leave and that's how you get big salary raises.

ROBBINS: Typically, they'll pay you more if you're leaving from a company. They are paying me 30 grand more. I would be happy to stay but this is what I need. What I found over the years in speaking at women's leadership conferences is that most women know they want to make more but they haven't built the case. What you need to do is look back over the last year, come up with a list of 20 accomplishments and also come up with a list of ten things that you will do in the next year that warrant you getting paid this amount.

KAYE: Do companies care?

(CROSSTALK)

FOROOHAR: Well, the thing that's interesting particularly in technology is it is about the bottom line. Staff that most people don't know is women buy more devices and more overall computer devices, electronic devices than men do. This is an audience that a company needs to play to. I think the smartest companies in industries, like packaged goods, in finance, are starting to realize that technology is behind the curve.

ROBBINS: Here's another thing for women to understand. That is that it costs the company money when you leave. So if you think --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: They already invested and trained.

ROBBINS: The cost to recruit somebody, to hire them, to train them, to onboard them is massive. So the small amount of money that you're probably asking for is a heck of a lot less than what it will cost that company to replace you. I'm telling you that so you go, girl, get out there and ask for money you deserve.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: Anything beside the counteroffer? A list of your accomplishments?

FOROOHAR: I think feeling your own power. The most successful companies right now are those that have more diversity. Shares perform better. You have that going in your favor. Women that reach a certain level, leadership have that going in their favor and it can work to your advantage.

ROBBINS: One more thing to point out. An interesting study done among big public accounting firms and one of the most significant factors in a woman's success inside that corporation was a male sponsor. Not a mentor. You're getting plenty of advice. A sponsor is somebody that knows you. That knows what your career goals are and when they're in upper level meetings, they are thinking about you and recommending you for opportunities and the women that forge those relationships with men that were higher up because they're in greater numbers in those meetings had much more success advancing because they had advocates at a higher level.

KAYE: What do you think women inside Microsoft are doing right now?

FOROOHAR: I hope they are ling up for ask for raises because there's never been a better time.

KAYE: Wearing T-shirts that say "karma" and a hoodie.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBBINS: I'm in search of karma. That's what you go in with.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: All right. Thank you both of you. Nice to see you.

Coming up next hour, do not miss this. "The New York Times" bestselling author, Randy Zuckerberg, will join me to talk about this. Also joining me, the woman who moderated the event where the Microsoft CEO said this. Don't miss this one, next hour, right here. But coming up next, an Alabama pastor stuns his church revealing that

he has AIDS and has been sleeping with members of his congregation for years. We're going to discuss the legal implications of all this right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Something like this will test your faith. A pastor delivers a bombshell blind-siding worshippers. The Reverend Juan McFarland told a church service that he had AIDS and then he also confessed to having sex with women in the church knowing that he had the disease. According to Deacon Nathan Williams Jr, Pastor McFarland also said he abused drugs and misused church funds. A shattering fall from grace. The deacon tells CNN McFarland changed locks on church and won't let board members inside. CNN has tried to reach Pastor McFarland for comment without success.

Let's bring in HLN legal analyst, Joe Jackson, from Atlanta; and CNN legal analyst, Mel Robbins, with me in New York.

Mel, to you.

So could pastor McFarland be charged with knowingly endangering these women?

ROBBINS: Absolutely. In fact, Randi, in Alabama, it is specifically laid out as a crime. A class-C misdemeanor to knowingly transmit an STD. There are 35 states in the United States that have laws regarding having and transmission of it. Alabama is the only one where it's not a felony. The only thing that this guy could get punished with in criminal court is three months, 90 days in jail for this but there are absolutely going to be some civil suits.

KAYE: So does it matter, do you think, if the women actually develop AIDS?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: It does not matter, Randi. Mel makes a very good point. The unfortunate thing is that it's a misdemeanor but remember it could be consecutive time. It's three months. Who knows how many women he slept with but if they do in fact prosecute him, Randi, they'll tack on time. To the point of knowingly doing it, when you prosecute someone, there has to be a mental state in terms of what you knew and when you knew it. What I found interesting in looking at the statute, it says it doesn't only have to be knowingly, you could in fact assume the risk of transmitting it or making it likely based upon your conduct that it's transmitted and so even though there may not be the intent or they develop the disease itself, the fact he exposes them to the risk is a crime.

KAYE: According to police in Montgomery, Mel, Pastor McFarland is not under investigation because, so far, nobody has filed a complaint. The criminal charges don't come, could there be a civil suit?

ROBBINS: Absolutely. I don't think the victims if they do decide to go forward will feel satisfied with what happens in criminal court. They can sue the pastor. They can sue the church because they employed the pastor. The church might sue the pastor for damaging the brand of the church. And one interesting thing to understand is you don't have to contract it. There have been successful cases where people in civil court have won very large verdicts for simply intentional infliction of emotional distress which comes from the fear that you might have HIV and a jury in Oregon just two years ago gave a woman $900,000 because a guy she was dating transmitted herpes to her while they were dating and he knew he had it and didn't tell her.

KAYE: That's amazing for the harm that can be done.

Joey, we hear he's changed the locks on the church and deacon says the church hired a lawyer. They are trying to regain control of the Shiloh Baptist Church. Is that their only recourse at this point if he went go?

JACKSON: They'll get rid of him. He may go holding onto the church doors but at the end of the day there are violations of his responsibility as pastor to the church and the community and I expect they'll pursue legal remedies to remove him properly and he'll go kicking and screaming but he'll go and there will be civil litigation relating to money so people he exposed this to could be compensated for irresponsible conduct. It's just a matter of time.

KAYE: McFarland admitted he tested positive in 2003 and then, five years later, when he tested positive again it was full blown AIDS. Does time matter?

ROBBINS: No. What will matter is whether or not these women want to press criminal charges. If they don't have victims, it's not likely that the police are going to press charges. He also admitted to drug abuse. He also admitted to misuse of church funds. There's a whole -- I can't imagine sitting in Sunday church and he didn't give just one sermon. He gave several over several days and hits kept on coming. It's such a strange story and so despicable what he's done.

JACKSON: Also briefly, Randi, you may have women who don't want to come forward because that would be admission that they were engaged in relations with him too and so you really need to get the victims and encourage them to come forward. It's not something they willingly may do but justice needs to be served. This story is outrageous to say the least.

KAYE: Joey Jackson, Mel Robbins, appreciate you both. Thank you.

Coming up, separating fact from fiction is a key weapon in the battle against Ebola. What you have to worry about and what you don't have to worry about, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. So some unwritten rules are basic. You don't yell "fire" in a crowded theater. You don't claim to have a bomb in your bag at the airport. So you would think everybody would know not to joke in public about having Ebola. A man reportedly did just that Thursday after U.S. Airways flight 845 from Philadelphia landed in the Dominican Republic. A hazmat team was called in and a flight attendant explained to passengers that it was going to look worse than it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FLIGHT ATTENDANT: I have done this for 36 years. I think the man that said this is an idiot. I'll say that straight out. If you hear me, that's fine. I want you to keep your wits about you. We have people coming on that we've been hearing about in the news that look like they're in a bubble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The offending passenger from the plane was escorted. He said, "I was just joking," as fellow travelers booed.

There is so much misinformation out there about Ebola, it's time to step back and look at the facts.

Here's pretty much everything that you need to know about Ebola boiled down into two minutes by our Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The clock ticking from the moment the Ebola virus enters the body. The disease not easy to contract, only carried in bodily fluids, blood, saliva, music, tears, vomit, urine or feces, and can enter the body through direct contact through eyes, nose, mouth, throat or reproductive organs. People can also get infected when eating meat from or coming into contact with contaminated animals. The virus can survive several hours in a dried state on door knobs or countertops. If fluid remains wet and at room temperature, it can survive for days outside of the body. Most people get it through contact with bodily fluids of patients or the deceased.

But when is someone with Ebola actually contagious? The short answer. When they start to show symptoms. Those symptoms can take from two to 21 days to kick in. In other words, a person could travel and interact with others for days, weeks, without passing on the virus. The average incubation period is eight to ten days. The early symptoms of the disease fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat are often mistaken for the flu. But then things get worse. Vomiting, bloody diarrhea, purple spots on the skin.

Once the symptoms set in, the person is contagious and has six to 16 days to either beat the virus or die. The death rate high. 50 percent to 90 percent chance of death depending on the strain and access to medical care. If an infected patient with a strong immune system gets proper care, the chance of surviving goes up. If they survive, the virus could remain in semen for up to three months. And if you survive, you have immunity for at least 10 years. But what's still unknown is if you're immune from other strains of Ebola.

Answers and questions for a frightening disease.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: Coming up next, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai accepts the Nobel Peace Prize and gave a statement only after she got out of school. Don't you love that? Hear from her after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: For U.S. investors, it was frayed nerves as the Dow plummeted yesterday, the biggest drop of the year. And look at the wild swings just this week. The Dow going from its best day to its worst in a span of 24 hours.

Alison Kosik has a check of the numbers for us.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Markets are flat. We're seeing Dow down seven points. It's been an interesting day. It's been the calm after the whiplash is what it has been. What you are seeing is investors at this point are exhausted looking for the next catalyst, a reason to go ahead and buy in. Now, earlier today we did see the market rally. The Dow was up a whole lot more than where it is now. That rally fizzled out. We're seeing oil prices that have taken it on the chin. Down 6 percent just this week. Oil prices are below $90 a barrel. We haven't seen that kind of level in two years. That could translate into good news for drivers if it translates into lower gas prices.

KAYE: What's spooking the markets?

KOSIK: There's a lot of worry about what's happening in Europe. Europe's economy is slowing down. Catalyst that set off investors yesterday which is that Germany, an engine of growth, is showing signs of slowing down. The r word, recession, is being thrown around when it comes to Germany. That's worrying a lot of people because if Europe starts to slow down, it's one of our biggest trading partners and that could affect us in the U.S. and affect U.S. companies.

KAYE: Alison, appreciate it.

KOSIK: You've got it.

KAYE: Thanks for the update.

The teenager who was shot by the Taliban for promoting education for girls is one of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head two years ago. Since her miraculous recovery, she has taken her campaign to the world stage. She will share the prize with a fellow in India who campaigned against the exploitation of children.

Yousafzai once told our own Christiane Amanpour that if she won the peace prize, it would only be the beginning of giving voice to the young girls that she champions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: If I get the Nobel Peace Prize it would be more than I deserve and a responsibility as well because I already consider education as part of my life. I want to work for it. It's a campaign. It is my life. So Nobel Peace Prize would help me to begin this campaign for girls education but the real call, the more precious call that I want to get and for which I want to struggle hard and that is the award to see every child to go to school and peace and education for every child and for that, I will struggle and I will work hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Amazing young woman. And today, after getting the prize, she gave thanks, but reminded the world why her mission toward equality is so important.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUSAFZAI: As my father always say, he did not give me something extra but I'm thankful to my father for not clipping my wings and letting me a fly and achieve my goals and to show the world that a girl is not supposed to be the slave. A girl has power to go forward in her life. And she's not only a mother, she's not only a sister, she's not only a wife, but a girl should have an identity and be recognized and she has equal rights as a boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Malala is the youngest winner in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize.