- To unify and organise information about research resources that are diverse in subject and physically distributed across a wide geographical area
- To identify and surface information about resources which are hidden within other collections
- To enable researchers with access to the Internet to identify and locate relevant resources and so improve the quality and quantity of their research
- To relate the material to the wider context of women's and gender studies and work in other disciplines which draws upon material about women
- To raise awareness of the existence, relevance and value of the collections submitted to Genesis