Working conditions in Australia remain marked by biases.

A recent report commissioned by non-profit advisor Diversity Council Australia (DCA) and the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace agency (EOWA) shows women earn, on average, 16 percent less than men. The gender pay gap report also revealed that the differences in pay accounts for 35 percent of the gap.

The report prepared by KPMG further discloses that women make up 42 percent of the total workforce; however, they were found to compose only 7 percent of executives in around 200 companies listed in the Australian stock exchange.

Sharryn Jackson MP, Member for Hasluck (WA) and Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment and Workplace Relations said, “I am pleased that business has acknowledged the link between productivity and pay equity... Smart, modern companies are the ones that will be addressing the barriers to pay equity in their own businesses.”

The pay gap has widened since 1977 when women were earning, on average, 88 percent of the salaries of their male counterparts. This year's pay figures is at 82 percent. Specifically, the average pay difference grew by $7.90 per week to $239.30 a week from $231.40.

An emphasis has been placed on the introduction of flexible arrangements for childcare and parenting responsibilities in order to boost national economic activity by up to 9 percent.