NSW women are falling further behind their national counterparts with the state's equal pay gap on the rise.
The state has overtaken the Northern Territory to claim Australia's second-highest gender pay gap.
While the national pay gap dropped from 18.3 to 17.9 per cent over the past year, the gap in NSW jumped from 16.5 to 19.3 per cent.
Assistant Secretary of Unions NSW, Emma Maiden, says it's up to the state government to show some leadership on the growing issue of pay equality.
With Friday marking Equal Pay Day, the federal government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) is urging more businesses to take a long, hard look at their payroll books.
The latest report from WGEA showed women have to work 65 days more in the financial year to earn the same as men.
In the past year in NSW, men's average full-time earnings have increased by 5.2 per cent, while women's have risen just over 1.5 per cent.
Ms Maiden said the gap is continuing to widen because men are getting large pay increases and women are being left behind.
"The NSW government is the largest employer in the state. In this capacity alone it could be making a huge difference," she said in a statement.
"So long as the Baird Government sits on its hands we will see NSW women slipping further and further behind."
Gender pay gap nationally:
* Men make $284.20 more in full-time average weekly earnings.
* Western Australia has the highest gender gap, reaching 26 per cent.
* Financial and Insurance Services have the highest industry gap.
* Women have to work 65 extra days to earn the same as men.
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