Jemele Hill recently reflected on her time co-hosting ESPN show, “His & Hers,” alongside Michael Smith. However, she also shared that despite them doing the same job, she was paid significantly less than her male counterpart.
Speaking to REVOLT, Hill shared that journalism was considered a “working class” profession when she first started out in her career.
Things shifted after she landed a gig at ESPN, where she received her first substantial paycheck.
“It wasn’t until I got to ESPN that I really got serious about the business side of journalism because I got to see what people made,” she explained. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s possible?!’ ESPN forced me to really grow up because it’s a different game being played at that level than it is at the previous places I had been. This is the first time I had an agent and the first time I really had to learn how to manage my money.”
All was not what it seemed. While Hill did make a lasting impression during her time with the network, she was not paid the same as Smith.
“I was making $200,000 less than him even though we were doing the same job,” Hill went on.
Hill says knowing your worth is crucial.
“It’s not so much about what you’re worth, it’s about what you will negotiate. I started at ESPN at such a low salary to begin with. One of those, ‘We’ll see how it works kind of contracts. A 2-and-2 contract: two-year deal with a two-year option, one of the worst contracts I ever signed.”
In 2018, Hill walked away from the network with more than two years left on her contract after facing backlash for tweeting “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself with other white supremacists.”
In 2020, she announced the launch of her exclusive Spotify podcast network. “The Unbothered Network” focuses on amplifying the voices and stories of Black women.
