career

TV host Catt Sadler quit her got at E! after a pay dispute. But what is she doing now?

Catt Sadler made headlines late last year for quitting her job at E! after the company refused to pay her the same as her male co-host, Jason Kennedy.

The presenter, who had been with the network for over a decade, learnt that her “TV husband” Kennedy had been earning almost double her salary for several years.

“My team and I asked for what I know I deserve and were denied repeatedly,” she later wrote in a post on her blog explaining why she would not be on the network anymore.

At the Golden Globes last week, celebrity attendees including Deborah Messing used their interviews on E! to show their solidarity with Catt.

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Almost a month after her dramatic and applauded resigning, not dissimilar to Australia’s own Lisa Wilkinson’s recent job change, there’s one question on everyone’s lips.

What will Catt do next?

The mother-of-two has been active on social media since her departure, but with the timing over Christmas and New Year break, they have mainly been holiday updates.

Today she shared a Instagram post hinting about her next career move.

New job: dog walker. ???? #Scarlett #Dodger #Teddy

A post shared by CATT SADLER (@iamcattsadler) on

“New job: dog walker,” she captioned the snap.

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Although a joke, it’s the first mention of new jobs Sadler has made.

Unlike Wilkinson, who appeared to pick up a shiny new job the same or next day, it appears that the 43-year-old has not done the same – or at least she’s keeping quiet about it.

Her social media accounts have been flooded with supportive comments from fans and viewers, with many saying E! News is not as good without her, or they’ve even stopped watching.

Listen to Mia, Holly and Jessie discuss whether quitting your job to protest equal pay holds women back. (Post continues below)…

With a loyal fan base and over two decades of broadcasting experience, anywhere would be lucky to have her.

Wilkinson, Sadler and more recently the BBC’s Carrie Grace have all made headlines for their statement-making resignations encouraging women to know their worth. But how helpful are those moves really?

On Mamamia Out Loud, host Holly Wainwright asked whether quitting a job actually puts us back.

“It definitely makes the gap wider if you’re getting nothing!” said Mia Freedman.

“I find this really troubling because when you have two people doing the same job, they had the same experience, I don’t know whether quitting is the right thing… but then you’ve got to take a stand.”

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Holly pointed out it’s all well and good doing it when you have a public profile and will likely get snapped up by someone else, but it’s just not an option for the average woman to do that.

And while in Wilkinson’s case, she may have got the “last laugh” by landing herself a great contract for more money with Channel 10, it’s unlikely that her replacement at Channel Nine, Georgie Gardner, is earning the same as her co-host Karl Stefanovic – the very discrepancy that caused the problem in the first place.

“[In Sadler’s case] the reality is they will just replace them with a younger person who will work for less. If they keep getting their ratings, they won’t care,” said Holly.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments below. 

Listen to the latest episode of Mamamia Out Loud…