Ebony Rainford-Brent receives MBE: "I want to see the gender pay gap closed"

The former England batter was recognised for her services to cricket and charity at Windsor Castle on Tuesday (May 3)

Ebony Rainford-Brent says breaching the gender pay gap should the next target for women's sport after collecting her MBE for services to cricket and charity.

The former England batter, 38, was given her award by Prince Charles on Tuesday, (May 3) after being named on the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Rainford-Brent played 29 times for England between 2001 and 2010 before becoming a pundit and commentator with BBC's Test Match Special and Sky Sports.

Among the most notable moments of their broadcast career came in 2020 when she shared her experiences of racism during a feature aired before the England v West Indies Test series.

What in incredible day receiving my MBE 🎖 today at Windsor Castle from HRH Prince Charles. Momma loved it too! Absolutely honoured 😎🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/uAjl01pO7H

— Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent MBE (@ejrainfordbrent) May 3, 2022

Her international debut against Netherlands 21 years ago saw her become the first black women to play for England.

The award also saw her recognised for her charity work, specifically around the formation of the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme which was set up to encourage more black teenagers to play cricket and has now gone nationwide.

The ACE programme began at Surrey but has since expanded to include Birmingham and Bristol with further extensions to Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and London to follow.

"I was honoured to be the first black woman to play but I always wanted to make sure that there were more young people that had that chance," said Rainford-Brent.

"It's been a long, long journey but it's an honour to be able to see the young people hopefully enjoy cricket and sport as much as it's given me not just from a professional side, but also just developing yourself as a person."

Rainford-Brent has also placed great importance on sport doing more to "close the gender pay gap".

"Awareness and visibility is starting to happen – next is investment," she added. "If you look from a women's sport perspective, we need more money going in to increase the standard, which then gets more broadcasting and then it creates this cycle.

"I want to see the gender pay gap closed. At the moment, there's still a huge gap in pay for females. It is closing, but it's still a long way to go and I would like to see that accelerated."

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