The other side of the pay gap: male models paid significantly less than female counterparts

The gender pay gap continues to fuel widespread political debate, but this week the attention is focused on the fashion modeling industry, after a key industry figure shed light on the fact that when it comes to the catwalk it is men, rather than women, who are struggling to shatter the glass ceiling.

In an interview with BBC Newsbeat Monday, top agent for male models Elizabeth Rose, Head of the Men's Board at Premier Model Management, spoke out about the disparity in wages between male and female clotheshorses.

"The top 10 female models all make millions," she told the site. "Only the top three male models make over a million."

According to Rose, a major female model could take home up to £40,000 (approximately $50,780) in catwalk fees for an important show, compared to an average fee of £10,000 (approximately $12,950) for a man. Business publication Forbes backs up the theory, revealing last year that 2014's highest paid female supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, took home over $47 million that year, while the top-earning male model in 2013, Sean O'Pry, earned just over $1.5 million.

However, things could be looking up for male models. Thanks to the rise of social media savvy stars such as David Gandy, Jason Morgan and Lucky Blue Smith, the idea of the celebrity male model is gradually catching on. Add this to the explosive growth of the men's grooming industry -- with the haircare market in particular predicted to increase steadily over the next three years -- and the recent emergence of separate men's fashion weeks in the key cities of New York, Milan, Paris and London, and it seems safe to bet on male models enjoying a bigger influence (and a bigger pay check) in the near future.