Women's Cricket Pay: The Gap, Progress, and What's Changed
The pay gap between men's and women's international cricket has been one of the most discussed topics in the sport's administration since the early 2010s — as women's cricket grew rapidly in viewership and quality while player pay remained dramatically lower than men's equivalents. Since 2017, multiple boards have taken significant steps toward pay parity: the ECB (England) awarded women's central contracts matching men's contract structures in 2014 and has progressively increased values, Cricket Australia moved to equal pay conditions in 2022, and the BCCI dramatically raised women's contract values from 2023. Understanding where the gap was, how it has changed, and what remains are important context for following women's cricket professionally.
The historical pay gap — where it came from: women's cricket at the professional international level was administered with minimal commercial investment through most of the 20th century and early 21st century. The structural reasons: (1) Revenue model: international men's cricket generates the bulk of its revenue from broadcast rights (valued in the billions of dollars for series like the IPL and England home series). Women's cricket broadcast deals, while growing rapidly from 2015 onward, were a fraction of men's equivalents — making equal pay in absolute terms economically asymmetric relative to revenue generation. (2) Administrative history: women's cricket was governed separately from men's cricket in most countries until the ICC merger with the International Women's Cricket Council in 2005. Pre-merger, women's boards operated with smaller budgets, fewer sponsors, and less commercial infrastructure — the pay levels reflected the administrative system's scale, not purely the players' contribution. (3) Player employment model: women's cricket for most players meant either part-time international cricket alongside a regular job, or (in some cases) subsidised but not professionally viable income. Full-time professional contracts for women's cricketers were not available in most countries until the 2010s. The ECB was the first major board to offer women's central contracts (2014) — at that point, England's women's players became the first women's cricketers in the world paid as full-time professional cricketers. Other boards followed: Cricket Australia (2016), Cricket South Africa (2021), and the BCCI (2022-23 for significantly raised contract values).
Current Pay Structure — What the Numbers Show
How women's cricket pay has changed from 2014 to 2024: (1) ECB (England and Wales): ECB women's central contracts in 2023 are valued at approximately £70,000-£120,000 (depending on category) for the top 18 contracted women's players. This compares to ECB men's central contracts at approximately £800,000-£2,000,000 for the top 12-18 contracted men. The absolute gap remains large; the growth trajectory is strongly positive. (2) Cricket Australia: Cricket Australia moved to equal conditions (rather than equal pay in absolute terms) for women's cricketers in 2022 — meaning equal employment conditions (comparable travel arrangements, support staff access, training facilities) rather than identical salaries. Pay scales differ because men's team revenue remains higher, but the proportional share of revenue for women's players is now comparable to men's. (3) BCCI (India): the BCCI women's A+ contract value was raised from INR 50 lakh (₹5m) to INR 1 crore (₹10m, approximately $120,000) in 2023 — a doubling. Men's A+ contracts are INR 7 crore (₹70m, approximately $840,000). The gap in absolute terms is approximately 7:1 in India's top contract tier. However, the Women's Premier League (WPL, launched 2023) changed the economics dramatically — WPL auction fees for top women's players (Smriti Mandhana sold for INR 3.4 crore, approximately $400,000, in the inaugural auction) can significantly exceed central contract values, meaning top Indian women players can earn comparable total annual income to some Ranji/domestic men's players via WPL contracts. (4) The Hundred (England): The Hundred women's competition (launched 2021) provides equal prize money to men's and women's competitions — a specific policy decision made at launch that has been noted as rare in professional sport.
What Remains and Where Progress Is Happening
Where the pay gap remains significant and what is driving change: (1) Countries with no women's contracts: several ICC Full Members still do not offer women's central contracts — players are paid per match or per tour, making professional cricket economically unsustainable as a sole income without outside employment. Progress has been most rapid in England, Australia, India, and New Zealand; other nations lag significantly. (2) Broadcast revenue gap: the fundamental driver of pay differences is broadcast revenue — men's cricket generates multiples of women's cricket broadcast revenue globally. As women's cricket viewership increases (ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 final drew 1.1 billion broadcast minutes of views), the revenue case for higher pay strengthens. (3) Franchise competition: the proliferation of women's franchise tournaments (WPL, WBBL in Australia, The Hundred, Charlotte Edwards Cup in England, SA20 women's tournaments) creates competition for players' availability and drives up auction and contract values — the market mechanism that has historically driven men's pay. (4) Prize money parity: ICC has moved to equal prize money for ICC Women's and Men's events — the Women's T20 World Cup prize pool now matches the Men's T20 World Cup prize pool in USD terms. This is a symbolic and practical step toward parity at the highest competition level.
Frequently asked questions
How much do women's cricketers earn compared to men's cricketers?
As of 2024, the pay gap between top women's and men's international cricketers remains significant but has narrowed substantially since 2014. In England: women's central contracts (£70,000-£120,000) vs men's (£800,000-£2,000,000). In India: BCCI women's A+ contracts (INR 1 crore, ~$120,000) vs men's (INR 7 crore, ~$840,000). However, franchise earnings (WPL in India, WBBL in Australia) now provide additional income that can substantially increase top women's players' total annual earnings — Smriti Mandhana's 2023 WPL auction fee (INR 3.4 crore, ~$400,000) exceeded most women's central contract values globally.
Which country first gave women cricketers professional contracts?
England's ECB was the first national board to offer women's central professional contracts, introduced in 2014. This made England's top women's cricketers the first women's cricketers globally to be employed as full-time professional cricketers rather than paid per game or tour. Cricket Australia followed with women's contracts in 2016. The BCCI introduced significantly higher women's contract values in 2022-23 and the WPL franchise competition (launched 2023) transformed the earnings landscape for top Indian women's cricketers.
What is the Women's Premier League (WPL) and how has it changed women's cricket?
The Women's Premier League (WPL) is an Indian BCCI-run franchise T20 competition launched in February 2023 with 5 franchises. Its inaugural auction raised INR 16.67 crore across 87 players from multiple nations — with top auction prices (Smriti Mandhana: INR 3.4 crore, Ashleigh Gardner: INR 3.2 crore, Sophie Ecclestone: INR 1.8 crore) exceeding the annual central contract values of most women's cricketers globally. The WPL created a new market for women's cricketers internationally — providing genuine high income from non-home-board sources and establishing a franchise competition that competes with other women's leagues for player availability.
Does the ICC pay men and women cricketers equally at World Cups?
Yes — the ICC has moved to equal prize money pools for ICC Men's and Women's T20 World Cups. This parity at the ICC level is separate from the pay gap at national board (central contract) level, where significant differences remain. Equal ICC prize money means that a Women's T20 World Cup winning team receives the same total prize pool as a Men's T20 World Cup winning team — though the per-player distribution depends on the number of players and the specific competition structure. This prize parity at ICC level was implemented progressively from 2017 to 2022.