Hundred gender wage disparity must end
The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) says the increasing disparity between the top salaries of men's and women's players in The Hundred "cannot be allowed to continue".The Women's Impact Report, released before International Women's Day on 8 March, has called for more to be done after the gap in pay between the top men's and women's players widened from £75,000 to £135,000 for 2025.In the men's competition, top level players will see their pay increase by 60% to £200,000, compared to a 30% rise to £65,000 for leading women's stars as part of an overall 25% rise across all salary bands."Considering the tournament is marketed equally amongst the men's and women's squads with the two teams, one club mantra, which is to be applauded, it is more than disappointing to see the gender pay gap increase," the report from the players' union said.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently oversaw the sales of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises, with the teams achieving a collective value of over £975m, bringing in around £520m to be split across the game in this country.The report added given this "influx of money" through private investment, "stakeholders in the game should be doing everything possible to close this gap, especially considering the increased interest, viewership and ticket sales for women's Hundred matches."The ECB said both men's and women's salary pots were raised by around 25% in the latest increase and that women's salaries alone increased by £800,000 in 2023.An ECB spokesperson added: "In the men's game, the latest increase was weighted towards the top end in order to be competitive in the global market."In the women's game, the increase was spread across the salary bands because we need to make more progress across the board."The PCA report did highlight the average salary of a women's player has increased from £8,000 in 2021 to £29,100 for this year's competition, with the lowest salary band up 278% to £10,000 from £3,600 four years ago.Additionally, there has been a 364% growth in the overall Hundred budget pot from 2021 as the popularity of the women's game grows - 320,000 people watched women's games live in The Hundred in 2024, up from 267,000 in the first year of the competition.
'Every year there has been significant improvements'
The report also shows there has been a 538% increase in professional women's players since 2020 from 24 to 153, aided by a new tiered domestic set-up that sees eight professional teams merge with the men's counties.This year the minimum salary for a women's domestic player will be £28,000, equal to that of their counterparts in the men's game."Gender equity in cricket can only be achieved when all professional players have equal opportunity to build viable careers and be the best cricketer they can be," said Donna Fraser, PCA director of people, equity, diversity and inclusion.There has also been a significant rise in the domestic remuneration pot from £720,000 in 2021 to £4m.Meanwhile, there has been a 236% rise in average salary of an England player from four years ago."Every year there has been significant improvements to the contractual and commercial conditions of England players," said vice-captain Nat Sciver-Brunt."The bar is constantly being raised and player views are being listened to and prioritised."England women's match fees were increased to equal the men's players in 2023.
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