The federal public service is a leader in gender equity, but more promotions still go to men and males are 2.5 times more likely than women to be in the highest-paid quartile, a new report has found.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency report found that across the 339,000-strong Commonwealth public sector there was a 13.5 per cent gender pay gap. This was markedly lower than the private sector gender pay gap of 21.7 per cent, but still means women on average earn $19,007 less each year.