CA’s women cash parity vow

CRICKET Australia (CA) will top up any prizemoney won by Australia’s women’s cricket team at next year’s T20 World Cup to ensure parity with the men’s equivalent winnings.

The ICC has increased the prizemoney pool for the 2020 World Cup by 320 per cent on the 2018 tournament.

The winners will receive $1.475 million, with the runners-up to take home $737,500 — but those figures still fall short of what the men receive.

As a result, CA will make up any of the shortfall for the women’s team to ensure they are compensated as handsomely as their male counterparts.

For example, if Australia wins the tournament, CA would top up the winners’ prizemoney with a further $885,000 to ensure parity.

“We want to continue our commitment to equality by ensuring that any prizemoney earned by the Australian women’s team in the T20 World Cup is the same as what is on offer in the men’s side of the tournament,” Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said.

“This will include matching the prizemoney for the final, semi-finals, or group stage.”

Roberts said while the ICC’s decision to improve women’s prizemoney was a positive step, CA’s move continued to drive the figure towards parity in the long term.

“I commend the ICC’s commitment and while there is no doubt we are starting to see financial progress for our talented cricketers, we still have a way to go and CA will continue to play a role in driving equality for our athletes,” he said.

All Australian players receive the same base pay rate, regardless of gender, after the negotiation of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Cricketers’ Association in 2017.