Women’s History Month Profiles: Katie Quan

For Women’s History Month, we’re taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making women’s history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today’s profile is Katie Quan of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU).

Katie Quan was a seamstress and an organizer for the ILGWU strike of Chinese women garment workers in 1982. She went on to serve as international vice president of the ILGWU. Quan is a senior fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education. She retired in 2016 but continues to work at the center on special projects involving research on global labor strategies and executive education for union leaders.