Australian women under represented in management

SYDNEY -- About a third of Australian companies have no women in key management positions, a new survey released on Tuesday revealed.

The federal government report, Australia's Gender Equality Scorecard, surveyed more 11,000 companies to discover that women were significantly under represented in management.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency public affairs executive manager, Yolanda Beattie, said that only 25 percent of top management positions were filled by women.

"Where women earn at a base salary, 20 percent less than men - these are full time workers - on an average basis," she said in a statement.

"When you take into consideration total remuneration which looks at bonuses and other data, that pay data blows out to 25 percent."

Beattie said many employers were not taking serious enough action in promoting women in the workforce.

"We're seeing employers are window dressing their efforts in the form of policies and anybody that's worked in any organization in Australia knows that it accounts for little," she said.

"It is strategies that drive action, that shape behaviors, that compel the mindset shifts that are required."