Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday committed to gender pay equity among its players having signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
The MoU is for the period from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2027 and covers all agreements in respect of player remuneration and updated terms and conditions across the West Indies system.
“The MOU outlines plans to achieve parity in international and regional match fees, international captain’s allowances, international team prize money and regional individual prize money for all West Indies cricketers by 1 October 2027,” the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said in a statement.
India, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England have put steps in place in recent times for pay equity among the genders.
Just last year, the ICC announced prize money parity at ICC tournaments for men’s and women’s teams.
WICB President Kishore Shallow said the announcement was a significant moment in the region and major step for all parties in reaching pay equity in the future.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Kishore Shallow, President of Cricket West Indies, stated,
“This is a historic day for West Indies cricket. As we overhaul the compensation structures and align performance grading, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and progressive cricket framework. This step reflects our unwavering commitment to gender equality and acknowledges the immense contributions of female players to West Indies cricket,” he said.
“In the preceding year, we undertook substantial enhancements to our travel policy, mandating that the West Indies Senior Women’s team travel business-class on all extended international flights and are accommodated in single rooms during internationalassignments. This aligns seamlessly with the established policy for West Indies Senior Men’s tours. Today, with the signing of this MOU, we take another significant stride in narrowing the gender gap within our cricketing community,” he added.
Johnny Grave, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, said: “We are proud to embark on this journey towards gender pay equity. The significant increases for our female players demonstrate our dedication to rewarding excellence and promoting fairness in our cricketing community. The increases in prize money, greater rewards for our best performing players and higher match fees for players in the starting XIs, are all strategic moves to place a greater emphasis on winning.”
Wavell Hinds, the President and CEO of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), said: “Achieving gender parity and equity has always been a strategic objective of our players’ union, and we’ve certainly done so with our female members. Without a doubt, this is a truly historic and exciting time for our membership as the MOU addresses most levels of our pay scale. As we operate within a very fluid cricketing landscape, we are duty bound to conscientiously reward our regional and international players within the constraints of CWI’s budget and agree on policies that will produce and promote world class performances.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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