After almost four years co-hosting "Live! with Kelly and Michael" alongside Kelly Ripa, Michael Strahan unexpectedly left the show for a new gig at "Good Morning America." Following reports revealed that Ripa hadn't been aware of Strahan's impending exit, Sherri Shepherd -- who spent years in live television as a host on "The View" -- said gender inequality may be why Ripa was kept in the dark.

Shepherd told The Huffington Post last week that Ripa would have likely been informed about his departure much earlier had the gender roles been reversed.

"It would have been completely different. I think if it was a man, they would have gone to him," she told host Alyona Minkovski. "It just would have been a completely different set of circumstances. I don't feel like he would have been blindsided at all."

Shepherd said Ripa deserved more respect as a host of such a successful "money-maker" morning program.

"Remember Kelly had to go through this before with Regis," Shepherd said. "It's not even the first time, so it's like, [show] a little bit of respect for who she is and what she's bringing, because people love her."

Shepherd added that gender inequalities in the workplace affect women across industries and socio-economic class. In fact, it's a "frustrating" reality that she's experienced herself.

"I've had this happen all the time," she said. "[A male colleague and I will] be doing the same thing, and I have more experience, and he starts off the bat making more money that me. It's really disheartening, going, I worked so hard to prove myself, but you come in here ... and you just immediately command what I worked so hard to get after all these years. And it's frustrating."

Watch the video above to hear Shepherd's thoughts on the issue.