Established in 1978 as a site for action and the production of knowledge about women’s lives, SdBI has the oldest Women’s Studies program in Canada and is recognized as one of the most innovative places in Quebec and Canada to study feminisms and develop initiatives that promote equality and social justice for all.

For almost 40 years now, the SdBI has been a leader in the study of feminisms and its approach has gone beyond the mere study of the conditions of women's lives.

As celebrated feminist Angela Davis plainly puts it, feminism is not only about women and not only about gender. It is a broader methodology that can enable us to better conceptualize and fight for progressive change.

At the heart of SdBI approach is the understanding that social inequality is produced through interlocking systems of oppression and that the State, nationalism and imperialism are central in producing and sustaining asymmetrical power relations such as those between men and women or those between people in the global north and those in the global south.

It also considers the social production of identities and differences and critically examine media representations and consumer cultures.