(Bloomberg) -- Australian employers need to rethink what it takes to be a senior leader in order to elevate more women and close the gender pay gap, according to the head of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Increased flexibility such as job-sharing and part-time management roles are essential to get more women into the top ranks, Mary Wooldridge, the agency’s chief executive officer, said in a speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday.

“In too many industries and workforces, we can’t see an alternative to leadership that doesn’t look like a person who works 8am to 8pm, is available 24/7 and on call to travel at a moment’s notice,” she said. “To get more women into leadership roles, company executives have to re-imagine what it looks like to be a senior manager or a leader.”

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Under an income equality law passed in Australia last year, firms with more than 100 employees have to reveal their gender pay gaps — with the difference in average total renumeration now standing at 21.7%. Wooldridge acknowledged progress had been made, citing a 6.9 percentage point narrowing of the gap since 2014, a “dramatic increase” in the number of women on boards, more companies offering paid parental leave and greater flexibility.

But women are still held back by unequal caring responsibilities and taking on more unpaid household work than men, she said.

“With 22% of non-managers working part-time but only 7% managers, there is a clear message – if you want to progress at a senior level, you have to follow the full-time, always-on approach,” Wooldridge said. “This excludes from management anyone (women and men) who cannot – or do not want to – work full time.”

--With assistance from Ben Westcott.

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