[1] The CACSW was established by the Canadian federal government in 1973[2] in order to educate and inform the public about women's concerns.
The CACSW was also empowered with the task of advising the federal government as to the effect public policy had on women.
Additionally, global activist movements fostered an appropriate cultural environment for the acknowledgement of rights at the state level.
As such, the CACSW was empowered with influencing the government agenda on subjects related to the feminist struggle, including: wage equity, access to employment traditionally dominated by men, education, female reproduction, child care, maternity benefits, and political representation.
Under the presidency of Doris Hilda Anderson,[4] the CACSW championed the explicit inclusion of women's equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.