Lois's story

Author: Clara Bingham
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Clara Bingham and Laura Lydie Gansler, leveraging their journalistic acumen and legal rigor, reconstruct the story with plain language, thorough investigation, and a gripping narrative; perfectly depicting the evolution of attitudes toward "sexual harassment" among American society, courts, government, victims, companies, and lawyers representing different interests. The story takes place in 1975, when Lois Jensen, a young, attractive single mother living on welfare, comes to Minnesota's frigid northern region—Eagan Mine Company for work. From then on, she enters a perilous environment dominated by men, where she and her female colleagues face shocking sexual harassment daily, including lewd jokes, sex toys, and vulgar language. Until one day in 1984, Lois bravely decides to file a lawsuit against the company, which had a indifferent attitude toward sexual harassment. From the initial filing of the lawsuit to the three exhausting trials that left her emotionally drained, the resilient Lois, with compelling evidence, the visionary and dedicated work of her legal team, and the solidarity of the female workers, ultimately won the case after fourteen years. This victory marked the first group sexual harassment lawsuit in American history and one of the most challenging. Today in the United States, almost all companies and educational organizations have established strict anti-sexual harassment policies. This change is largely attributed to Lois's initial decision and the precedent set by this case.