Best guess here, is that it's because a lot of people like Satya and have been optimistic about what he might do at Microsoft.
If a bigger jerk said the same thing, you wouldn't see as many people seeking to explain it away. I think people naturally prefer to give a much greater benefit of the doubt to someone they think is nice.
Also, as a new CEO in a very difficult job with high levels of 24/7 scrutiny, there's likely to be an inclination to not light the guy on fire over his first misstep or three (even if it's offensive).
That sounds reasonable, the problem is as ever that we human's have a problem separating the comment/action/thought from the person.
It's why we can't understand that Hitler was a vegetarian or Thomas Jefferson had slaves.
In reality we're a massively complex mismash of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Just like any country.
Yet we expect a consistency from the aggregate!
Personally speaking I can believe that he's a pretty decent person (probably more than I) and that he may well for all I know be trying to do his level best for gender equality. I only disagree with the statement, not the person. But the statement is very important when it comes from the head of one of the world's largest companies.
If a bigger jerk said the same thing, you wouldn't see as many people seeking to explain it away. I think people naturally prefer to give a much greater benefit of the doubt to someone they think is nice.
Also, as a new CEO in a very difficult job with high levels of 24/7 scrutiny, there's likely to be an inclination to not light the guy on fire over his first misstep or three (even if it's offensive).