England's women domestic players to be granted basic salary equality from 2025

Female cricketers in England have taken another step towards gender parity as minimum starting salaries in domestic cricket are set to be equalised across the men's and women's professional games from 2025.

This initiative, which coincides with the inaugural edition of the new women's county competition, will be applicable both at 'Rookie' level, which is being introduced into the women's game for the first time, and at 'Senior Pro' level for cricketers who have made themselves integral members of the first teams.

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The declaration arrives in the wake of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report in June 2023, which called for a "fundamental overhaul" to the pay structure of women's cricket in England and Wales.

For the unversed, according to the report, the average England Women's salary was 20.6% of their male equivalents (however, the ECB considered that figure to be around 30%), and set targets for equalising pay at domestic level by 2029 and for internationals by 2030.

When the report was released, the minimum salary for male first-class county players was in around £27,500. This latest move comes in the aftermath of last summer's announcement that England's women would receive equal match fees for international assignments, which had been an immediate recommendation in the ICEC report.

It is important that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one: Beth Barret-Wild, Director of Women's Professional Game

Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of Women's Professional Game, said that it is important to make cricket as attractive a sport for young girls as it is for boys and the latest development is a monumental building block towards the end goal.

"Equalising starting salaries across our men's and women's professional domestic game is another positive step forward for women's cricket in England and Wales. The changes we've made to the structure of women's domestic cricket across the last nine months have been about producing a sustainable and viable product that's attractive off the pitch, as well as being quality on it. As part of this, it's important that our players are remunerated appropriately, and that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one," Barrett-Wild said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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"Increasingly, every decision we take is about making cricket as attractive a sport for young girls as it is for boys. We know we still have a lot of work to do in this space. But we are moving at pace, and the news today represents another significant building block in the journey to gender equity in the game," she added.

PCA Director of Player Rights and Women's Cricket, Emma Reid also welcomed the move, calling it a big step towards the ultimate goal of attaining parity across all sectors of the professional game.