Lois Jenson: A Silence Breaker’s Echo – Stories from Sexual Harassment’s Front Lines

Wavemaker Conversations: A Podcast for the Insanely Curious

Lois Jenson is a historic figure in the battle against sexual harassment – the lead plaintiff in the field’s first class action lawsuit. As one of the first four women miners in a northern Minnesota mine, Jenson shares what one judge called the “record of human indecency” that she and the other female miners endured for many years – extreme harassment, including one miner grabbing her crotch while other miners watched and laughed. As you’ll hear, it would get even worse than that. The company failed to act. Jenson decided it had to stop, so she took it to court. The years of harassment and seemingly endless legal battles left Jenson physically ill and suffering from PTSD. Yet, still, she recalls the good guys, who, she says, outnumbered the bad. How she regained her health is an inspiring story near the end of our conversation that can inspire so many others who are suffering.