Sydney, Mar 3 (IANS): Average top-tier female managers earn 100,000 Australian dollars ($73,000) less than their male counterparts, a study revealed on Thursday.

Research conducted by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), discovered that increasing the amount of women on board from zero to half, reduced the gender pay gap by 6.3 percent.

Managerial gender pay gaps are less in male-dominated industries than in female-dominated industries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Australian businesses have progressively taken an interest in economic inequality between men and women over the past five years, said Conrad Liveris, Australian Workforce Diversity Specialist.

"Good businesses are uncovering where the gaps in remuneration and promotion lie, and are taking proactive steps to counteract them," he said.

"While the number of women in management and leadership remains low, effort is clearly going in the right direction," he added.

There were many contributing factors to gender pay gaps, including discrimination, according to Rebecca Cassells, associate professor at Curtin Economics Centre.

"Large and persistent gender pay gaps among managers suggest preferential recruitment and better wage treatment of men over women," she said.

"This is further evidenced by the greater additional remuneration that men receive, compared to women, beyond their base salary in the form of bonuses," she added.