Commonwealth Bank is one of Australia’s largest employers and we know the importance of creating a supportive work environment where all our people feel valued and respected.

We want an environment where people can do their best every day.

It’s a philosophy that Cricket Australia shares, so in 2016 we refocused our long-standing partnership to better champion diversity and inclusion in the sport.

“Diversity covers many things, including gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, disability, age to life-stage, family, thought, perspective, education and experience,” says Monique Macleod, Acting Chief Marketing Officer at Commonwealth Bank. “And through our partnership with Cricket Australia, we’re helping level the playing field in sport.”

To maximise opportunities for female players in the sport we’re:

• Jointly funding with Cricket Australia the $1 million Growing Cricket for Girls Fund.
• Funding an enhanced, full high-definition outdoor broadcast experience of the first-ever day night Women’s Ashes Test.
• We’ve also sponsored the Australian Women’s Cricket Team and the women’s development squad, the Shooting Stars, for more than 18 years.

“For women to be successful in sport, there needs to be systems in place that support their involvement at a local level right through to the elite,” says Ellyse Perry, Commonwealth Bank Southern Star and all-rounder. “I’m so proud to be a CommBank ambassador and be involved in these initiatives which help bring more females onto the pitch.”

From grassroots to elite female, Indigenous and all-abilities, at Commonwealth Bank we want to ensure cricket is a game that is inclusive and accessible for all. Some of the other ways we are making this happen are:

• Our partnership with Cricket Australia will help provide full funding for Australia’s national disability teams and get them access to the same high-performance support that other elite representative cricket teams receive.
• With our support, Cricket Australia is commissioning a tour by Australia’s Indigenous women’s and men’s squads of England in 2018 to commemorate the renowned all-Aboriginal team tour of England in 1868.
• Over the past five years, we have provided more than one million dollars in grants, sponsorships and cricket gear to 395 to local cricket clubs around the country.

Find out more about what Commonwealth Bank is doing to promote diversity and inclusion.