West Indies becomes latest cricket team to commit towards gender pay equity

Kingston, Jan 26: In a significant development, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced it had signed a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), with a commitment to achieve pay equity for their male and female players being the standout point.

"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."

"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," said Dr. Kishore Shallow, CWI President.

West Indies now join New Zealand, India, Australia, South Africa and England in moving towards gender pay equity in cricket. 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 October 1, 2027.