Cricket Australia’s new Parental Leave Policy puts new mothers on a level playing field
Cricket Australia has introduced a Parental Leave Policy which will ensure fairer treatment of those who fall pregnant or adopt and is expected to extend the careers of many top female players.
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The sight of small children running around the men’s cricket team hotel is not uncommon, but rare in women’s cricket. Then again, that situation is a little more complicated.
Players remember the sound of Sarah Elliott’s breast pump whirring in the dressing room during the 2013 Ashes as she expressed milk for her nine-month-old son, Sam, but there’s not been much of that since.
The logistics are just too difficult for most: Elliott was up feeding at night and shook off her tiredness to score a century on the field during the day.
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On Friday, Cricket Australia — after three years of consultation with the Australian Cricketers’ Association — announced a Parental Leave Policy that hopefully makes it a more even playing field for men and women.
In 2016 the game was caught in an embarrassing controversy after The Australian revealed its contracts demanded female athletes behave “courteously” on the field and disclose if they are pregnant when signing contracts.
The story sparked an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman and a concerted effort from both sides of the industrial dispute to ensure a better deal for women.
The new policy allows women who get pregnant to transfer to a non-playing role before and after the birth, includes 12 months paid leave and guarantees the player an extension of their deal in the next contract period.
There is three-weeks paid leave for partners when a child is born or adopted, plus travel support for the primary carer including flights, accommodation and expenses until the child is four.
Clea Smith of the Australian Cricketers’ Association said the changes would extend careers and Cricket Australia boasted that the game is leading the way for female cricketers.
The women players themselves admit it is a game changer and are eagerly anticipating more kids around the game.
“The first baby that does come along will have 10 pretty excited aunts,” Elyse Villani told the Australian. “The child won’t be short of love, that’s for sure.
“I always thought I would start a family after playing but there are obviously more options now. I think there will be a real shift in the next few years.”
Rachael Haynes, fresh from her maiden century in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, remembers hearing a strange noise as she gathered herself in the change rooms during the 2013 Ashes.
“I’d just got out and I couldn’t figure out what the sound was and I then I saw Sarah was around the corner expressing milk,” she remembers, “it’s not something you experience too often in cricket change rooms.
“It was a real challenge for Sarah to have her family on tour and also getting the best out of herself as an athlete. This completely changes that for players.”
Elliott was consulted during the drafting of the policy. At 33, Haynes admits she is at the age where “it’s most relevant”.
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“The most positive thing about it is the co-operation between the ACA and CA. They have been working on it for a few years now and they have got it to a place where it not only provides support to the player and opportunity to make life decisions around having a family and not have to sacrifice your career,” she said.
“The game is demanding and as an international player you spend so much time away from home. The great thing about this is you can have the support and continue playing.”
New Zealand and Melbourne Renegades skipper Amy Satterthwaite recently announced she would not be playing this summer because she was having a child with partner Lea Tahuhu.
NZ cricket has enacted a similar policy that will see her given a contract for 2019-20 without any expectation she take the field.