All Podcasts / The Rest Is Politics: US / The Secret To Asking For A Pay Raise (Mika Brzezinski)
The Rest Is Politics: US
The Rest Is Politics: US

The Secret To Asking For A Pay Raise (Mika Brzezinski)

July 10, 2026 • 49m

Summary

⏱️ 11 min read

Overview

Mika Brzezinski, co-anchor of MSNBC's Morning Joe, joins Katty Kay to discuss her journey from undervaluing herself to becoming an advocate for women knowing their worth. Through candid storytelling about contract negotiations gone wrong and hard-won lessons, Mika shares practical strategies for asking for raises, avoiding the 'good girl trap,' and understanding that women have a much longer runway than previous generations believed. The conversation covers everything from the art of salary negotiation to handling workplace dynamics after maternity leave, all anchored in Mika's core philosophy that knowing your value extends far beyond your career into every relationship in your life.

The Origins of Know Your Value

Mika Brzezinski reveals the painful catalyst behind her Know Your Value movement: signing a Morning Joe contract for far less than her male co-hosts after being fired and searching for work for a year. With low confidence and desperate for stability, she made the mistake of signing too quickly without negotiating. This experience taught her that negotiating your worth is actually part of your job, not an optional extra, and that companies won't volunteer to pay you more out of kindness.

  • Mika was fired from a successful career and spent a year looking for work, which left her confidence low
  • When Morning Joe started taking off, she signed a contract for far less than everyone else on the show
  • She realized women often underestimate themselves and sign the first contract handed to them because they want the uncomfortable negotiation to end
  • The uncomfortable part of negotiation is actually your job - you need to drag it out as long as possible to get the most you can
" Part of the job is being able to get a great deal for yourself. And I kept contracting that out to other people and then maybe trying to be the ringer but not doing a great job on it. "
" You still have to know your value even when your stock is down. "
" What company is going to say, hey, listen, you don't know your value. Let me remind you and pay you tons more. Please let us pay you more money. That's not how it works. "

Know Your Value Beyond Career

Mika expands the Know Your Value philosophy beyond workplace negotiations to encompass all relationships in life. She argues that the skills used to get value back at work - communicating what you need, commanding respect, and not settling for less - transfer directly to relationships with spouses, children, and friends. The core issue is that many women struggle to articulate what they want and need, leading to unfulfillment and resentment across all areas of life.

  • Knowing your value applies to every relationship in your life - spouse, children, friends - not just career
  • If you don't know your value in relationships, people will own you, including your kids
  • Many women struggle with being self-deprecating, apologizing their way into conversations, and undermining themselves
  • People can't read minds - you must communicate what you need and want effectively
" If you don't, they will own you. Those kids are going to own you and they'll see it in your eyes. "
" People can't read minds. They don't know what you want unless you say it. "

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