Research topics covered motherhood and solo mothers, child care, employment, retraining, the education of girls, housing, caregiving, immigrant women, abortion, finance and retirement.
[1] The founders were a group of women associated with a Newlands Playcentre, including Margaret Shields (who was later to become a Member of Parliament), Mary Mowbray and others.
[11] The branches were autonomous but a National Executive of elected officers met once a month to deal with communications, bulletins etc., to set broad policies and standards, and arrange for the publication and distribution of research reports.
[13] SROW received an annual grant from government of $5000 (later $7500) administered by a government-appointed Research Fund Administration Committee (RFAC).
The yearly grant ended when the RFAC's functions were transferred to the new Ministry for Women's Affairs in 1988.
Over 5000 women were surveyed on employment and retraining, education, community involvement and leisure interests.
It found that 60% of all New Zealand women left school without qualifications and ended up in low-paid, low-status jobs.
[4] Mary Mowbray, Joan Stagpoole and Margaret Shields presented the report to the then Minister of Finance, Robert Muldoon.
[4] By the time of a 1975 conference, Education and the Equality of the Sexes, SROW had demonstrated the usefulness of research as a tool in fighting inequality.
[16] The aim of producing sound research to be used by policy makers and analysts in decision making was realised.