Microsoft Corp. says, while the company is “keenly aware of gender imbalance in the tech industry,” a federal class action seeking to advance the discrimination claims of more than 8,600 former and current female employees is not the right avenue to tackle the issue.

The case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against the Redmond, Washington-based tech company argues that systemic practices across the company's office created a disparity for advancement and equal pay for women in engineering and technical roles compared to men in comparable positions.

Microsoft's opposition to class certification, filed Friday in federal court, reveals the tension the company faces as it fights the class claims while acknowledging internal and broader efforts to improve gender equality and diversity in the industry. The tech industry has been under the microscope for gender inequity, and several other major companies have faced similar lawsuits, including Alphabet Inc's Google and Uber Technologies. The U.S. Labor Department also has open investigations against Google and Oracle.