Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L-R), U.N. Women's Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman participate in an event on empowering woman
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L-R), U.N. Women's Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman participate in an event on empowering woman and girls, at the World Bank in Washington May 14, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L-R), U.N. Women's Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman participate in an event on empowering woman and girls, at the World Bank in Washington May 14, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

The gender gap in salaries in Australia just got wider. The latest report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) said the difference grew to 24.7 percent from 19.9 percent. The gap is felt more among women executives who get lesser discretionary pay such as bonuses, allowances, overtime and other perks when compared to their male counterparts.

But the gap isn't just in compensation because even in number of executives, females account for only 25 percent of top-level management positions in Australia, while less than 10 percent of board seats are held by women, reports Marie Claire.

The report said that only 17.3 percent of CEOs in the country are women, while those in key management positions comprise only 39.8 percent. Up to 33.5 percent have no female in key management posts, while 31.3 percent don't have other female executives.

YouTube/Victorian Trades Hall

The numbers are indicators that Australian companies do not maximize the full potential of Aussie women who belong to the highly educated talent pool, said Helen Conway, director of WGEA.

"There is now extensive evidence that shows women face clearly defined structural and cultural barriers in the workplace that makes it harder for them to rise up the management ranks. This is a lost opportunity given its accepted diverse teams underpin an organisation's ability to innovate, meet the needs of customers and effectively manage risk," Conway said in a statement.

About half of Australian employers have policies that promote gender equality, but only 13.6 percent have a strategy for flexible work and only 13.2 percent have a strategy to support workers with family and caring responsibilities.

The release of the WGEA report on Wednesday was preceded by the agency's announcement last week that 79 organisations received a citation for inclusion in its inaugural list of Employer of Choice for Gender Equality.

Among the 79 organisations in the list are Villa Maria, PepsiCo, BP, Maddocks and McDonald's. The last two companies have been cited for their paid parental leave policies.

The fast food chain giant provides eligible employees up to 18 weeks of pay based on their ordinary wages less any payments they got under the Government Paid Parental Leave scheme. McDonald's also implements the government's Dad and Partner Pay scheme plus adds a top up of the remainder of their salary.