Professionals - those working in a range of industries from accountants to actors - have the greatest pay gap, with men often dominating the highest paid jobs.
In these sectors men on average are paid 15 per cent more than women, while those working in community and personal services see a even bigger discrepancy in salary.
Statistics reveal those working in manager positions, or in trade or administration, have the greatest pay gap with women on average earning just over $29 an hour compared to men earning more than $33 per hour.
For every dollar men aged between 25 and 64 made last year, women made just under 86 cents in comparison.
Smallest pay gaps
Surprisingly, the jobs with the smallest pay gap is in the construction industry, where the pay difference is less than 5 percent.
This is closely followed by professions in the electricity, water and waste industries, transport, postal and warehousing sectors, wholesale, retail and agriculture, forestry and fishing services as the industries with the smallest pay gap.
Professions ranking from biggest pay gap to smallest
The pay discrepancy between men and women varies depending on the profession, but statistics show across all sectors, women earn 14 per cent less than men.
Research conducted by the Ministry of Women's Affairs found that graduates entering the workforce were paid similar salaries, but the pay gap further increased for top-paying roles.
Another factor contributing pay inequality has been attributed to women working in lower paid, female-dominated occupations.
Professions with greatest pay gap:
1. Financial and insurance services
2. Professional and administrative services
3. Information, media and telecommunications
4. Manufacturing
5. Mining
6. Rental, hiring and real estate services
7. Public administration and safety
8. Health
9. Art and recreation
10. Education and training
