The Australian Institute of Management's recent National Salary Survey revealed that gender inequality still exists in pay packets across industries and job positions. According to the survey, female staff are paid, on average, 12% less than their male counterparts and the most significant discrepancy occurs at CEO level, where females earn 18% less than their male counterparts for undertaking the same job roles.

The statistics by job family in terms of workforce composition revealed that the more 'client relationship/service oriented' roles attracted a higher percentage of females. In the professional services area such as law and accounting firms, where roles are more clearly defined and therefore able to be measured like-for-like, the percentages were not vastly different. In the IT area, for example, fewer females participated but the salary differential was not so significant.

Jennifer Alexander, CEO of AIM NSW & ACT, said that senior executive women leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table when discussing or negotiating their salaries. AIM has introduced negotiation skills training as part of its Public Training Programs in an effort to redress this fault.

"We're finding that in training exercises that simulate salary negotiations, many women do not actively seek the best possible deal. Rather, they settle for a good outcome for both parties. There is an increasing demand for training in the areas of job selection, high level presentations and negotiation skills. At this stage participants in the workshops are equally male and female so perhaps the message is getting through," Alexander added.