Women kicked off 2018 with a major win when Hoda Kotb was officially announced as Matt Lauer’s replacement on Today, thus creating the show’s first all-female co-anchor team alongside Savannah Guthrie. However, Kotb has confirmed that neither she nor Guthrie will receive salaries as high as Lauer’s former paycheck, which was rumored to be the highest for any current TV anchor. I’m all for rewarding seniority and spending time in a position before getting the big check, but why is wage disparity still such a valid concern?
“The answer is no — that’s not happening,” Kotb said in an interview with PEOPLE of her salary matching Lauer’s. “I know it sounds ridiculous that I’m going to say this, but I really have done jobs I liked for the job…because I never wanted to be happy every other Friday on pay day. Like, I didn’t want that to be the happy day. I wanted to feel good throughout. So no, I’m not making Matt Lauer money. Not even close.”
Hoda Kotb might be raking in the ratings on “Today,” but she tells People magazine she won’t be making the same salary as the man she’s replacing. https://t.co/2A1UH4GhY8
— HuffPostWomen (@HuffPostWomen) January 3, 2018
While Kotb’s mindset is definitely inspirational and worth remembering when you’re on the job hunt, the concept of being paid less than a man in the same job is noteworthy. For the time being, Kotb is pulling double duty at NBC’s Today. In addition to co-hosting the 7 and 8 a.m. hours of the show, she will still appear alongside Kathie Lee Gifford in the duo’s popular 10 a.m. show. Cosmopolitan reports that sources tell Page Six that Kotb and Guthrie, who has co-anchored since 2012, are both paid $7 million a year for their responsibilities. Lauer, who had hosted Today since 1997 and worked with NBC for several years prior, was reportedly receiving $20 to $25 million a year.
A NBC insider told Page Six, “Hoda isn’t complaining about the money. She has landed the big job she always dreamed of, and most definitely deserves. Plus, Matt’s salary reflected the long time he was on the show…if things go well, Hoda could ask for more next time if she re-ups her contract. But the figures underline the huge wage disparity at NBC News.”
Linking Lauer’s huge paycheck to his long tenure with the show doesn’t exactly hold up when Kotb and Guthrie’s salaries are compared to new NBC addition Megyn Kelly. Having joined the network this past fall to host Today‘s 9 a.m. hour, Kelly reportedly has a $20 million deal for this singular responsibility, and audiences haven’t exactly warmed up to her since her hour launched.
Ultimately, Kotb’s new salary being about a third less than Lauer’s highlights the constant issue of unequal pay in the workplace. Throw in the fact that Lauer was dismissed for sexual misconduct and Kotb played it cool on air alongside Guthrie when the news broke, and the whole scenario stirs up a bit of uneasiness.
Matt Lauer presided over Today for decades, earning steadily lower ratings and high unfavorability with viewers. Salary: $26 million a year.
Hoda Kotb became co-host of Today and immediately raised ratings. Her pay: $18 million LESS than Lauer’s. https://t.co/kEztwnT2dN
— Heidi N Moore (@moorehn) January 3, 2018
However, as Variety points out, TV anchors rarely make the same as their predecessors, and the question that people should ask about Kotb is whether her pay is fair overall. We’re not all network executives, but trying to find that balance between general fairness and gender equality seems to be difficult.