GO Proudly Presents: 100 Women We Love, Class Of 2020

Charlene Liu

Photo Courtesy Of Charlene Liu.

As the founder of ShanghaiPRIDE, Charlene Liu is a force in the world of Chinese social change. She co-founded the annual festival in 2009 and has grown it into the longest-running Pride in mainland China — put on entirely by LGBTQ+ and ally volunteers. In 2014, Time Out Shanghai awarded Liu and the ShanghaiPRIDE team the Shanghai Hero award, and four years later, they won Best Event Organizer in East China by Huodongxing. Although she’s been awarded for her work, Liu never thought that queer advocacy would be her career path. “Advocating for LGBTQ and gender diversity was something I stumbled upon when I moved to China; it was supposed to be a hobby and temporary,” Liu tells GO. “However, every time someone comes up to me or my team to thank us for changing their minds, helping them to accept themselves, and helping them change their lives, the sense of success and fulfillment is far beyond what I imagined it to be.” Her experience in organizing goes beyond Pride; in fact, Liu has over 14 years of experience in community leadership and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) advocacy experience. In 2014, she formed event management company Q-Events. She is also the co-founder of Ladies Who Tech, a social impact community for women in STEM, which launched in 2016. Although Liu’s got her hands full, she continues to organize events and manage the planning, finances, and sponsorships of all her companies. —GP


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