England’s female cricketers have made great strides toward gender equity. According to a recent ECB statement, minimum starting salaries in domestic cricket would be the same for both men’s and women’s professional games beginning in 2025. The change will go into effect in time for the new women’s county competition’s inaugural season. It will impact both players who have established themselves on first teams at the ‘Senior Pro’ level and those new to the women’s game at the ‘Rookie’ level.
The statement follows the June 2023 report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which recommended a “fundamental overhaul” of the compensation system for women’s cricket in England and Wales. The research exposed that, on average, women in England made 20.6% less money than men (but the ECB believed that percentage to be closer to 30%). Additionally, it set targets for pay parity for foreign and domestic workers by 2030 and 2029, respectively.
ECB’s Push for Salary
The ECB’s commitment to minimum salaries underlines the need to provide equal opportunity for young players choosing cricket as a career. Even though they pushed back against the report’s timeline for attaining full parity across the sport. At the time of the report’s publishing, male first-class county players were expected to earn a minimum income of around £27,500.
This new development follows last summer’s decision that England’s women will receive equal match fees for international matches. This recommendation had been made right away in the ICEC report. “Another encouraging development for women’s cricket in England and Wales is the equalization of starting pay in our men’s and women’s professional domestic leagues.” Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of Women’s Professional Game, remarked.
Additionally, the ECB has announced that the eight Tier 1 counties participating in the new women’s league will have minimum squad sizes of fifteen contracted players. Additionally, each first-class county will need to commit to spending at least £500,000 on player salaries by the year 2025. Additionally, those clubs have agreed upon a salary ceiling of £800,000 annually.
ECB’s Equity Progress
PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid, said: “Working with the ECB and the professional game, we are pleased to see equalized minimum salaries across the men’s and women’s domestic game from 2025. The Professional Game Committee (PGC), which is composed of representatives from the FCCs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), and the ECB, has approved the starting salary and specifics of the remuneration budget.
The announcement followed the ECB’s initial reaction to the 137 suggestions and sub-recommendations detailed in the ICEC study. And it came ahead of the ECB’s one-year update on its progress towards equity in cricket. In addition to investing an extra £2 million in the ECB’s pathways programs, the measures implemented included the appointment of the Cricket Regulator as an independent, arm’s length disciplinary body.
The eight FCCs with tier-one status in next year’s revised domestic women’s system will also have a minimum squad size of 15 contracted players and a wage cap of 800,000 pounds ($1.07 million) annually. In addition, the FCCs will be required to contribute at least 500,000 pounds ($669,500.00) in player compensation costs by 2025. The inaugural T20 Blast Women’s Finals Day will begin at the Oval on July 27 of next year, while the first One Day Cup Women’s Final will be hosted at the Utilita Bowl on September 21.
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