PM Jacinda Ardern says Black Ferns should get equal pay and opportunities

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has agreed with the growing chorus of voices saying the world champion Black Ferns deserve equal pay and equal opportunities to their male counterparts.

A month ago, it was revealed the England women’s rugby team would be paid a $30,000 bonus if they won the World Cup final at Eden Park last Saturday, while the Black Ferns squad were in line to receive nothing.

The All Blacks are in line to win at least $150,000 each should they win their World Cup in France next year.

“From what I have observed of the Black Ferns over a number of years, they’ve asked for nothing more than equality of treatment, you know,” Ardern told journalists in Vietnam, where she is discussing trade with Vietnamese officials before travelling to Bangkok for the Apec Summit.

“Just to have those same opportunities, and they deserve no less, and I feel very strongly about [that].”

Ardern said her stance applied to “every level of the system” and “every level of the game”, including sponsorship, media coverage, merchandise, and even “the meals they have after the game”.

She said the decision on how much they should earn, and if it should match the figure the All Blacks make, is in the hands of New Zealand Rugby.

“But what you’ll hear me certainly promote is that the Black Ferns have been deserving, not just in the last week, but over the last few years.”

The Black Ferns celebrate winning the Women's Rugby World Cup against England. Photo / Dean Purcell

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson told RNZ today the organisation could change the current arrangement with the Black Ferns in light of their thrilling victory.

He said he was hopeful they would “sort through that” in the next few days.

“It would be nice to do something.”

New Zealand Rugby said in a statement last month its focus was on transitioning the professional women’s players to a fulltime employment model.

A major contract breakthrough this year means the majority of the Black Ferns squad are on retainers of between $35,000 and $70,000 per year.

Some earn more than $130,000 – comparable to lower-end Super Rugby players. Overall, it meant the Black Ferns had higher remuneration than other teams, even with a lack of bonuses.

Sevens rugby star Michaela Blyde told the Herald’s In the Loop podcast last month that while they don’t get bonuses, their salaries had increased “massively” in the last few years.

Robertson said bonuses were decisions for NZ Rugby, but he would be “delighted” if they did that.

There was “extraordinary brand value”, in the Black Ferns as demonstrated over the past six weeks of the tournament, Robertson said, and he believed that would play a part in their future contract negotiations.

Sports and Acting Prime Minister Grant Robertson has said the Black Ferns have taken the game to a place where all New Zealanders could feel a part of it, and it was important to build on the legacy of this year’s tournament.

“To give the Black Ferns the resources and game time they need, and for all women and girls in sports.”

Robertson said we should be working towards pay parity across all sports.

“This is an area that I’ve spoken about a lot since we launched our women and girls and sports strategy [in 2018].

“I believe we should be working for pay parity across all sports. There are lots of reasons why individual sports will tell you that that isn’t possible.

“One of those in the past has been the commercial value. In this case, I think we saw ample demonstration on the weekend that there is an extraordinary brand value there in the Black Ferns.

“I [have] no doubt that New Zealand Rugby will now be considering that for future negotiations.”

He said he believed that eventually the Black Ferns would be paid the same amount as the All Blacks.

“We’ve seen that in other codes and other sports. In Eden Park on Saturday night, I have never felt an atmosphere like that. I think that the talent and skill level of this team was extraordinary.”