OLDS — The first female land man hired by Mobil Oil has won a key victory in her 17-year discrimination battle.

“The David and Goliath has become the Delorie and Goliath,” said Delorie Walsh with a chuckle this week.

“I was pleased with the decision,” said the Olds woman. “When you go to court, you never know how it’s going to turn out.”

The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in a decision released on Aug. 5 that Walsh was a victim of gender discrimination and was retaliated against for filing human rights complaints against her employer. Alberta’s highest court upheld a review released last October by a Court of Queen’s Bench Justice.

Walsh, 51, began working for Canadian Superior in 1984 and worked her way up the ladder to became a land man, or land agent, despite resistance from superiors at the company that had merged with Mobil Canada.

The last straw came after she finally got a job in the field in 1991, only to be saddled with conditions — such as a three-month probation period — that none of her male co-workers faced. She was also denied extra pay or a promotion despite taking on a job with more responsibility.

In 1995, she was fired and she filed another complaint arguing it was retaliation for her first complaint.

Walsh said making the decision to take the fight to her employer was not easy.

“I thought about it long and hard, but once I made the decision, I decided to see it through.

“It was very stressful at times. I think I told someone, ‘It isn’t for the faint of heart.’

“I went through some really tough times. I think there is going to be some good that comes out of it.”

She has been buoyed by the calls she has received from young women in the workforce who are supportive of her fight and asking for advice.

In her judgment, Justice Marina Paperny sheds some light on what Walsh faced, referring to an incident in 1986 in which Walsh asked about the possibility of becoming a land agent in the field. “Walsh was told by her superior that ‘no damn woman will be a land man in the surface department.’ ”

Paperny also notes that Walsh lost her job after fighting for four years against the discrimination she suffered.

“Mobil’s continuing denial of the discriminatory nature of its conduct (including the pay differential) and continuing unfounded allegation of cause were unreasonable.

“A complainant of less fortitude may well have abandoned the complaint, not because it lacked merit, but because Mobil had decided to play hard ball in its response to the complaints. That approach is not one that should be encouraged.”

ExxonMobil spokesperson Gordon Wong said the company is reviewing the court’s decision, but has not decided whether to appeal. The company has 30 days to apply to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Walsh said her experiences with numerous court judgments, dismissals, human rights panel proceedings and other legal intricacies have changed her. “I’m probably more willing to speak my mind on issues that should be addressed.

“I find myself in a position to support people going through similar situations. I would see myself as an advocate for human rights and women’s issues in particular.”

Even though it was more common years ago for women to be discriminated against in the workplace, it still happens today, she said.

To get her case this far, Walsh has had to do much of the legal work herself, with help from family and friends. But lawyers were hired in her recent court wins and she admits her finances have been drained, although some court cost awards are coming.

What sort of damages Walsh will be entitled to will not be known until a hearing is held sometime in the future.

The judge overseeing the review suggested she could be compensated for the earnings she lost by being paid less than co-workers because of discrimination. She could also receive compensation for the difference in what she earned after she was fired from Mobil with what she would have earned if she had stayed with the company.

Her husband Harvey Walsh said Mobil underestimated his wife. She used the same “temerity” that won her praise as a land agent in her legal fight.

“They failed to take that into consideration.”

Over the last 13 years, Walsh has done jobs in the land field with other companies and filled in for a maternity leave in Olds College’s land agency and land administration program last year.

Asked if she plans to use her experiences to talk about discrimination issues in a public forum, she offers only a “Not yet.”

Contact Paul Cowley at pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com