after completing her degree in 1969 woo began working at san francisco state university with their equal opportunity program, where she taught lesbian literature, among other classes. she was later given a job offer by the university of california, berkeley, where she began teaching in 1978 until she was fired in 1982 due to openly criticizing the way the ethnic studies department was run and stating that they were a result of right wing activities. she fought against the dismissal and was briefly reinstated in 1984, upon which point she formed the merle woo defense committee to ensure that all issues would be heard. in 1986 berkeley declined to renew woo's teaching contract, a move she believed to be discrimination and retaliation. woo once again successfully fought against the dismissal, winning a union arbitration against the university in 1989. she went on to teach at san francisco state university and san jose state university.