Fewer entry-level women want promotion than men
Fewer entry-level women than men express the desire to be promoted, a gap that sets women back right from the beginning of their careers.
Snapshot · The Rest Is Politics: US
The Secret To Asking For A Pay Raise (Mika Brzezinski)
Explore episode
Jul 10, 2026
Where this was said
Risk, Youth, and the Next Generation
At 33:40 · chapter starts 30:50
Katty raises the persistent myth that women are risk-averse, and Mika acknowledges she does see less appetite for risk in the young people she hires — but attributes it less to gender and more to generational trauma. [1] — Mika Brzezinski "Mika Brzezinski sees a generation weighed down by pandemic trauma, gun violence, and political chaos — and it's making them reluctant to se…" 30:50 Young people today have been hit by a sequence of gut punches: a global pandemic, gun violence in schools, and a turbulent political landscape. The result, she argues, is a generation that lacks the hungry, eager, relentless follow-up energy that opens doors — the thank-you email, the first-thing-tomorrow availability. She worries this risk-aversion carries over into personal relationships too. And she sees it as the next challenge for the Know Your Value movement: helping young people find their fire again.
Young People Are Risk-Averse — and Mika Is Worried
Mika Brzezinski sees a generation weighed down by pandemic trauma, gun violence, and political chaos — and it's making them reluctant to self-promote, take risks, and show the hungry-eye eagerness that opens doors. She's calling it her most urgent concern for the next generation of women.
Young people are more risk-averse post-COVID
Mika Brzezinski argues that gut punches from COVID, school shootings, and political turbulence have made young people today significantly more risk-averse in their careers.
Women ask for less money when they do negotiate
Even when women do ask for raises, they tend to ask for less money than men on average, compounding the pay gap over a career.
Pay Raise Role Play: The Wrong Way
Mika acts out three ways she actually asked for pay raises — and failed. The apologetic approach, the personal-expenses sob story, and the aggressive finger-poke at the boss. All three backfired spectacularly and for the same reason: none of them came from a grounded sense of self-worth.
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