Pauline Woo Tsui was at her core an anti-discrimination activist who sought to correct the wrongs brought on the female sex in many theaters, from the USA to China.
Born in Nanjing on 2 October, 1920, Woo’s father in fact came from Hawaii, USA, and as a result, his daughter could claim American citizenship.
But that would not be until well into her 20s.
At a much younger age, Woo was already displaying her calling, insisting on the importance of schooling for girls, at a time when many were denied an education.
Woo first attended a private school for girls in Shanghai, the McTyeire School (中西女中) that was founded in 1882. Remaining in Shanghai, she then went on to earn a degree in education at the Anglican St. John’s University, Shanghai, one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious universities, thought by many to be the then Harvard of China.
With the outbreak of the Second World War and very little to her name, Woo set about fleeing the Japanese occupation and took a full month to make her way to Chongqing.
After she remained there for 3 years, teaching music, Woo was able to secure post-war passage on a ship from China to the USA.
After settling in New York and earning an MA in music eduaction from Columbia University, Woo met and married T.L. Tsui, a senior diplomatic officer. To support him and their children, she took up a post at the United States Army Map Service (now the Defense Mapping Agency Topographic Centre).
This decision was to shape the rest of her life. For it was in this post that Woo first ran into discrimination against Chinese women.
Over the following years, Woo began to notice that whenever the US Army made cutbacks, it was always the womens’ positions that were first to go. Either that or they had their salaries cut more than their male counterparts.
Latterly setting up a number of initiatives taught Woo that organising was the key to gaining equality.
Then came the 1970s, a time of deep cultural change in the USA. The role of women in American society was being transformed; more women entered the paid workforce and as they did so, gender equality was the last thing on their boss’ minds.
Hence, in 1977, together with the diplomat, Julia Chang Bloch, Woo co-founded the Organisation of Chinese American Women (OCAW), with the aims to advance and to advocate for the needs and concerns of Chinese and other Asian-Pacific American women.
During her term as the organisation’s Executive Director, Woo also turned her attention back to her homeland, setting up the Scholarship for Girls in Rural China.
Then in the 1998 school year, the Scholarship was joined by the Tiger Woods Foundation to support 70 girls with their middle school education for 3 years in the provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan.
The Maryland State Archives quotes Woo’s epitah as her own words; “The many equalities that women fought for in the last century, are now the opportunity for young women to choose a new direction for the women’s movement. I do hope young Chinese-American women will seize upon this opportunity to map out a trajectory where all women and men can live and work happily and equally together”.
Woo passed away on 27 November, 2018.
