The MoU plans to achieve parity in various ways by October 1, 2027
In order to advance woman wage parity in West Indies cricket, Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) have inked a “historic” four-year Memorandum of Understanding. A press release stated that the Memorandum of Understanding “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.”
In order to ensure a consistent evaluation procedure for both domestic and international cricket starting on October 1, 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aligns the performance grading criteria for international women’s and regional men’s contracts with the established standards for international men. Declaring it a “groundbreaking development,” the announcement went on to say that CWI wants to establish an atmosphere where “talent is valued irrespective of gender” and more fair playing fields.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covers all agreements regarding player compensation and updates terms and conditions for the entire West Indies system. It is valid from October 1, 2023, until September 30, 2027.
Among the key elements specified in the Memorandum of Understanding are:
- Significantly increased team prize money and new individual player rewards
- Full match fees for players in the starting XI and 80% for reserves (effective 1 October 2024)
- All retainers on hold once an NOC is issued for an overseas domestic franchise tournament (effective October 1, 2024)
- The potential for CWI and franchises to award multi-year retainer contracts (up to three years);
- Increased international and regional match fees and ICC tournament fees for all women’s cricketers, to achieve parity by October 1, 2027
- Align international women’s contracts and regional men’s contracts with the performance grading that has been established for the international men.
“This is a historic day for West Indies cricket,” Dr Kishore Shallow, president of CWI, said. “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”.
“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 international assignments. 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.”
The release further stated that the “MoU also introduces opportunities for compensation enhancement for both international and regional men, and new team and individual incentive bonuses for the top performers in the system. The top contract band values for men at international and regional level have also been increased, underscoring the commitment to fostering a culture of player growth, improvement and high performance.”
“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,” Wavell Hinds, president and CEO of WIPA said. “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.”