However, ladies shouldn't get their handbags out to bash men just yet, as this new phenomenon may not be their fault. Women are notoriously bad at fighting their corners when it comes to wage increases and some of us also like to work for free.

In the recent Quarterly National Household Survey by the Central Statistics Office, more than half of females reported that they did not receive payment for overtime work. Almost 79pc of employees who worked overtime in the femaledominated education sector reported non-payment.

It's back to the thing that's been around for centuries , , women always feel that they've got to do a better job than men in order to compete on a level playing pitch. We don't look for financial recompense for everything we do in the same way that comes more naturally to males, " says Alison Herbert, national president of Network Ireland, an organisation for women in business, the professions and the arts.

?That's a cultural thing that's not going to be changed by financial benefits. Having said that, the twentysomethings who are coming through are much more mercenary and are making more demands of their employers.

There is definitely a change coming through."

The latest statistics from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions report that women in the EU earn, on average, less than men. Women throughout the EU earned 17.5pc less than men in 2004. The good news for Irish females is that our gender-based wage differential was a bit better than the average EU differential. The gender wage gap here is 13.5pc and in the UK it is 18.2pc.

Of course, wage differentials aren't the only cause of gender inequality in the workforce. Women continue to enter traditional roles and tend to shy away from jobs on building sites or as engineers.

In fact, Engineers Ireland is trying to recruit more females into its profession. At the moment, approximately 18pc of engineering graduates are women.

However, even when women enter the professions they continue to notice the differences between the genders. Research by recruitment and human resources consulting company, Hudson, found that there is 'a widespreadperception among women that men dominate senior management roles and are disproportionately represented at a senior level'.

The research, which was carried out last November, found that in some sectors, the imbalance was particularly acute. For example, in the legal sector, 82pc of women believed that senior management roles were predominantly being filled by men.

Women are notoriously absent from the boardrooms of large corporations. There is currently an interesting attempt under way to get more women to board level in Norway. The country passed a law earlier this year that obliges 40pc of corporate boards to comprise women and companies will incur huge penalties if they do not keep to this.

Women need to be aware of their skillsets and qualifications when negotiating wage increases, says occupational psychologist Kate Quinlan.

You need to be confident about your abilities and about what you bring to the role. You should focus on your past achievements, your energy and your ability to do the job. You need to believe that you're a very strong asset to your employer and you have to be aware of the market value of your current skillset. Get a good idea of what your experience and skillset is making on the market."

Herbert believes that good education, reskilling and encouraging women to set up their own businesses can help end wage disparities. They should become self-employed and use the multitude of grants that are out there, " she says.