The key to riches for women working in listed companies is to become the head of technology, operations or finance, where median pay is higher than that of their male counterparts, analysis by Financial Review Business Intelligence shows.
Among the 293 executives at listed companies earning more than $2 million a year in 2015, only 21 are women.
Men's pay outstrips women among CEOs, group heads, chief risk officers and human resources.
The lower remuneration for women CEOs is because they generally head smaller companies than their male peers.
The women who earn more as division heads are often in Australia's largest organisations.
Almost half the women in the $2 million club work for banks or insurance companies.
The second highest earner overall and the highest paid woman in the Australian Securities Exchange is Shemara Wikramanayake, group head of Macquarie Asset Management, who earned more than $16 million.
Only her boss, Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore, earned more - but only by $200,000.
Wikramanayake, who has been at Macquarie for 24 years, is seen as a likely successor to Moore.
That could make her the highest paid CEO in the ASX, should that happen.
The second-highest female pay packet was that of Debra Valentine, group executive technology and innovation at miner Rio Tinto, who earned $5.22 million.
Macquarie Group's chief operating officer, Nicole Sorbara, was third with $4.37 million.
The highest-paid woman CEO, and fourth highest-paid woman, is Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz of Mirvac, who was paid $3.77 million.
That's $12.73 million less than Macquarie's Moore.
