Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday again apologized for his controversial remarks last week about women and pay raises, and outlined a new diversity plan for the company.

In an internal memo obtained by GeekWire, Nadella said his recent comments at the Grace Hopper conference were "just plain wrong," and called the whole debacle a "humbling and learning experience." He acknowledged that the advice — that women should rely on good "karma" instead of asking for a pay raise — "underestimated exclusion and bias" and could hold people back.

"For context, I had received this advice from my mentors and followed it in my own career," Nadella said. "I do believe that at Microsoft in general good work is rewarded, and I have seen it many times here."

But he continued: "Any advice that advocates passivity in the face of bias is wrong. Leaders need to act and shape the culture to root out biases and create an environment where everyone can effectively advocate for themselves."

Nadella assured employees that he is completely committed to diversity and inclusion, and outlined a series of steps the company will immediately take to improve on these fronts. First, Microsoft's senior leadership team will continue to focus on equal pay for equal work, and ensure that men and women have the same opportunities within the company.

"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 percent at Microsoft," Nadella said. "Last year women in the U.S. at the same title and level earned 99.7 percent of what men earned at the same title and level."

Second, the company will work to expand the diversity of its workforce, especially in engineering and at the senior level. And finally, the plan includes mandatory diversity and inclusion training for employees.

"I am personally fully committed to these efforts and so is the rest of the senior leadership team," he said.