March of that year, in Ottawa, Ontario, 16 community members, from diverse backgrounds and occupations, formed a small organization as a platform to meet regularly and discuss this problem.
After careful planning and deliberation, the election of board members, and the adoption of a constitution, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women was founded.
Feminist Perspectives, another of CRIAW's notable works, was a series of essays covering topics such as child care, Meech Lake Accord, and pornography.
[2] Along with written publications, CRIAW sponsors annual conferences featuring prominent members of the community where research and artwork are presented, and workshops are conducted.
Some cities where these conferences have been held include Vancouver, British Columbia; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Furthermore, member Marilyn Assheton-Smith was invited by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to meet in Paris, France, to discuss a network of feminist research institutes.
[2] Following CRIAW's involvement with UNESCO, the organization took on an activist role in research, and began dealing with issues affecting women in northern Canada, such as in Yellowknife and other parts of the Northwest Territories.
These initiatives by CRIAW aligned with their non-discriminative mission of serving and assisting women of all cultures and backgrounds and was the foundation to the later development of Intersectional Feminist Frameworks (IFF).
FemNorthNet releases several newsletters throughout the year, along with articles, fact sheets, and other publications which draw upon the experiences faced by northern women during this period of immense innovation and development.
This research project was conducted to ensure that diverse women can inform and influence the government at federal, provincial, and municipal levels about their needs and access to public services.
As well, CRIAW releases a newsletter several times during the year, with reports, articles on global women's issues, and on upcoming projects for the organization.