In a significant move towards achieving pay parity, female basketball players in Australia will see their minimum salaries double over the next four years, reaching parity with male players by the third year of a newly signed collective agreement.
The agreement which has been touted as a historic milestone for the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), will increase the players’ minimum pay from A$23,000 to A$46,952 by the 2028–29 season. At the same time, the league’s salary cap will rise by 8% annually, hitting just over A$723,000 within the same timeframe.
This is not just a win for women’s basketball, it’s a powerful signal of change in the sporting sector which has long been dominated by pay disparity. It reflects a growing recognition that equal effort, commitment, and performance should be matched by equal remuneration, regardless of gender.
For New Zealand it also prompts a timely reflection: where do we stand on pay parity in sport (and more generally) and are we at risk of falling behind?
To give credit where it’s due, we have made meaningful strides in recent years. In 2022, New Zealand Cricket made international headlines when it announced that female cricketers would be paid the same match fees as their male counterparts for international games.
Similarly, the Black Ferns, New Zealand’s world champion womens’ rugby team secured significantly improved contracts, including professional salaries, equal daily allowances, and enhanced maternity provisions.
These developments demonstrate what is possible when governing bodies prioritise equity.
However, while significant, these examples are still the exception rather than the rule. Many female athletes in New Zealand continue to juggle full-time jobs or study alongside their sporting careers. Some receive little to no pay, despite representing their country on the world stage.
For sports outside the mainstream, financial support remains inconsistent and, in many cases, inadequate.
The term “pay parity” is commonly used to refer to both equal pay and pay equity. But it is important to distinguish between the terms, particularly given recent events in New Zealand.
Equal pay refers to the principle that two people doing the same job should receive the same remuneration, regardless of gender or ethnicity. Pay equity, by contrast, addresses the systemic undervaluation of work traditionally carried out by women and viewed as less deserving of remuneration due to being “women’s work”, such as nursing, early childhood education, and caregiving.
Australia’s WNBL deal is an example of both equal pay and pay equity at work: equality in minimum salaries and equity through increased funding and recognition of the women’s game as a product of equal value.
While the sports field is inching closer to equality, New Zealand’s political arena seems to be pulling in the opposite direction.
The recently passed reforms to the Equal Pay Act, raise the threshold for lodging a pay equity claim and discontinue 33 active claims involving over 150,000 women, many in historically undervalued, female-dominated roles like caregiving and administration.
Whilst sport is essentially entertainment, it can be considered a cultural mirror. The values we uphold on the field often reflect those we prioritise off it. That’s why moves toward pay parity in sport are so powerful, they model fairness, challenge outdated norms, and provide visibility to gender-based injustices in a way that few other arenas can.
When young girls see the Black Ferns or White Ferns being paid fairly, it affirms their place in the game. It tells them they are not an afterthought, a charity case, or an exception. It tells them they belong. That matters not just for them, but for the generations that follow.
Australia’s move to lift women basketballers to pay parity is cause for celebration but also a wake-up call.
Pay parity is not about giving anyone more than they deserve. It’s about ensuring no one is paid less because of who they are.
That is why the undermining of the Equal Pay Act is so retrograde.
Originally published in The Post
