Established in 1980 during the emerging wave of gender studies, ISST has been consistently working towards bringing social change with a focus on livelihood and well-being of vulnerable communities. It attempts to bring to the centre stage and address gendered dimensions of labour through a critical public-spirited inquiry and a gender transformative approach necessary to build a just and equitable society, especially on issues concerning women, children and other marginalised communities. It does so through empirical research as well as community development programs.   

Presently ISST is engaged in a range of macro and micro level research directed towards social and economic empowerment of women, adolescents and children.  

The community development programs of ISST are executed through the two community centres - Saathi Centre and Yuva Saathi Centre, both located in the Kalyanpuri neighbourhood of East Delhi, India. While the Saathi centre’s core work is around the overall development of children in the age-group of 3-15 years, the Yuva Saathi Centre works with Young Adolescents on issues of education, gender and violence. Both the centres aim to provide a safe space and an enabling environment for a brighter future of the children and adolescents.