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Expressions of gender bias were part of wider cultural issues that "take time" to improve, an employer has claimed in objecting to an employee's general protections dismissal application.

The employee had raised legitimate concerns about her treatment in the workplace, Deputy President Gerard Boyce found, but he rejected that she was constructively dismissed.

The employee – a Chevron Australia area inspector at the Gorgon LNG Project on Barrow Island – claimed she was forced to quit in September last year, due to the employer's lack of support after she had complained, over a period of 12 months, about her male peers and supervisor.

But the employer objected, arguing the employee resigned voluntarily "after careful consideration".

The Commission heard that in August, the employee emailed her supervisors reiterating that throughout her tenure she'd felt undervalued, undermined and excluded due to gender bias within her team. She referred to specific examples of "microaggressions", such as team members persistently using gendered language ("gents", "fellas" and "lads"), or excluding her from communications and tasks. She also alleged they dismissed her credentials and overlooked her as a member of the team...