in the field of transgender women. Religion Women and feminism in the United States Asian American feminism The first wave of Asian women's organizing formed out of the Asian American movement of the 1960s, which in turn was inspired by the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. During the Second Wave of feminism, Asian American women provided services for battered women, worked as advocates for refugees and recent immigrants, produced events spotlighting Asian women's cultural and political diversity, and organized with other women of color. Asian Sisters, which emerged in 1971 out of the Asian American Political Alliance, is an early Asian American women's group based out of Los Angeles that focused on drug abuse intervention for young women. Networking between Asian American and other women during this period also included participation by a contingent of 150 Third World and white women from North America at the historic Vancouver Indochinese Women's Conference (1971) to work with the Indochinese women against U.S. imperialism. History After World War II when immigration laws began to change, an increasing number of Asian women began to migrate to the United States and joined the workforce. Asian women who worked in the textile and garment industry faced gender discrimination as well as racism. Following the African American and Chicana feminist movements of the 1960s, Asian American women activists began to organize and participated in protests with Asian American men to fight racism and classism. The first organized movement formed by Asian American women followed the Asian American movement in the 1960s, which was influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and anti-Vietnam War sentiment. However, as Asian American women's participation became increasingly active, they faced sexism and realized that many of the organizations did not recognize their needs and struggles as women. While Asian American women believed that they face the same social and equality issues as Asian American men, many Asian American men did not share the same sentiment. Important figures and movements In the mid 1960s when more and more Asian women began immigrating to the United States, they faced gender discrimination and racism in the workforce. Au Quon McElrath, who was a Chinese labor activist and social workers, began organizing and advocating for increased wages, improved working environments, additional health benefits, and maternity leaves for women workers. When Asian American women activists started to recognize a need for a separate movement from