The data looks at the five years between 2011 and 2016, and focuses on 10 statistical areas in our region: Ararat, Ararat region, Horsham, Horsham region, Nhill region, St Arnaud, Stawell, West Wimmera, Yarriambiack and Buloke.

In each of these areas, there were between one thousand to three thousand more men employed than women in 2015-16.

The number of people employed overall either declined or remained stable in the five-year period. In most areas with declines, the rate of decline was higher among male employees.

Despite this, median employment income figures showed men continued to earn significantly more than women in every statistical area.

In Horsham, employed men had a median income more than $13,000 higher than women in 2015-16.

The median employment income for a male in that year was $47,201, while for women it was $33,882.

The median income in Horsham increased between $3000 to $4000 for both men and women in the five-year period, but the pay gap remained about $13,000 to $14,000 each year.

In Ararat, the pay gap was about $11,000 in 2011-12, and remained the same five years later.

This was despite the fact men made up less of the city's workforce in 2015-16 than they did in 2011-12, while the number of employed women was unchanged in that period.

Women's Health Grampians regional consultant for Wimmera Melissa Morris said the data was not surprising, but there were many reasons for why women earned less than men.

“Part-time employment, the difference in salary across sectors and the industries men and women tend to work in, issues associated with the retention of women throughout their life, and unconscious bias all contribute towards some of those differences,” she said.

“We know some sectors have a higher concentration of women, and sometimes those sectors pay less.

“Other key factors are the issues associated with unpaid caring work and impact that has on the median income over life.”

Ms Morris said the data was consistent with the findings documented in Women’s Health Grampians’ Gender Inequality in the Grampians region report, released in March.

“We've seen that despite really high levels of educational attainment between women and girls, often employment income levels and full-time employment rates are not as high as men,” she said.

“So what sits behind that – why is that the case?

“We need to look at how we address some of the stereotypes that exist in the work that women and men often do, and the issue of unpaid caring work.”

Data from Deloitte Access Economics released this week shows Victorian women complete most of the state’s unpaid work, at a cost of more than $205 billion.

Deloitte’s analysis, commissioned by the state government, found unpaid work equated to half of Victoria’s Gross State Product last year.

The government said this high level of unpaid work among women helped explain the persistent gender pay gap in Australia, with women working full-time earning about $245 a week less than men.

Ms Morris said unpaid work undeniably influenced women’s income and superannuation accrual.

“I’m not sure if it’s a more significant factor than others,” she said.

“We do know that when women take time out of the workforce to raise children, by the time they’re able to go back they haven’t had super, they might have missed out on management opportunities or career progression, and also the natural growth that happens in wages over a period of time.

“We are looking for organisations to look at their series of systems, policies and structures that reinforce that gender gap.

“We need to look at how we can address these things and look at things with a gender lens. There are lots of agencies working in these space to address this, and more and more information coming out. There are good resources for organisations to address these topics.”

Horsham Rural City mayor Pam Clarke said she was not surprised such a wage gap existed between men and women, but was disappointed the gap was not closing.

“You can understand it to a degree, because a lot of women have part-time jobs and are primary caregivers,” she said.

“But there are still some areas in our communities where women are paid less than men in the same work.

“I also think sometimes women don't tend to put themselves forward and ask for a pay rise, whereas men are more likely to.

“But it's also up to companies themselves to ensure they're doing the right thing.”

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Cr Clarke said unconscious bias “absolutely” played a role.

“Those biases are everywhere. And we all have them over all sorts of issues. It’s about recognising them,” she said.

“We need to empower women more to give them the confidence to stand up and recognise their worth and value, not only in paid employment, but also in the community in other ways.”

Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group executive officer La Vergne Lehmann said she was pleased there was solid female representation within her organisation and the boards she served on.

These include the Wimmera Health Care Group board, which has six female and two male members.

“I can't speak to pay equity because very often you don't know what others' salary packages are,” she said.

“But in the public sector the pay equity is pretty clear, because there are set pay rates and they are largely well publicised. In terms of equity and opportunity, I think we're in a pretty good position in most areas.

“But you don’t want equality for equality’s sake. What you want is quality people, regardless of whether they are male or female.

“For myself, I don't think I’ve been appointed to any particular role because I’m female. I think it's because I have a skill set that is desirable for that role.

“I haven't met too many women that I could say anything other than that for.”

Mrs Lehmann said confidence could sometimes be a barrier for women, and she hoped to encourage more women to look at standing for councils, boards and other leadership positions.

“I think the biggest thing that can stand in the way for women sometimes is that we don't talk ourselves up enough,” she said.

“We tend to say, ‘I can do that, but I'm not good at this bit’. Whereas men are probably better at selling themselves.”

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Horsham Agricultural Society’s Andrea Cross, who has also been involved in the city’s business community, said she was surprised pay inequality still existed considering the number of women in the modern workforce.

She said in her experience, people could sometimes be more biased based on age rather than gender.

“It used to be that the older you get, the wiser you get,” she said.

“Where I think the greater challenge in some workforces now is age. People 50 years and older applying for professional roles are often overlooked for someone younger.”