Federal Liberal women's caucus members released Monday its "Pink Book," a policy document aimed at targeting what they say are the most pressing issues facing Canadian women.

The document is the culmination of cross-country working sessions with women and women's groups held last July, and is slated to be in the party's election platform.

The caucus says the policies are aimed at the most burning issues facing Canadian women, particularly working women and their families, caregivers and seniors.

The federal Liberal women's caucus says that improving the social and economic equality of women is the driving force behind the first volume of what they're calling their "Pink Book."

Belinda Stronach, chair of the Liberal women's caucus, says the recommendations are also aimed at countering what she describes as the Conservative government's "attack" on women's progress.

"The National Liberal Women's Caucus has long been an active and passionate voice for Canadian women. Today, that voice is required more than ever as the Conservative government pursues an ideological agenda that ignores the needs of many women and cuts the funding of groups dedicated to those who need help most," said the MP for the Ontario riding of Newmarket Aurora.

"This first volume of The Pink Book identifies specific policy areas and initiatives related to the social and economic equality of women. The National Liberal Women's Caucus believes these issues are fundamental and a critical starting point for making changes in areas of interest and importance to women in Canada. We look forward receiving more input and ideas from women across Canada in the months to come," she added.

The recommendations include:

• Reinstating the Liberal child-care and early-learning plan the Tories scrapped after the last election
• Establishing a schedule for federal funding of child care so that it reaches one per cent of Gross Domestic Product
• Reversing the 43 per cent cut to the operating budget of Status of Women Canada
• Increasing funding to the Women's Program at Status of Women by a minimum of 25 per cent.
• Developing a national caregiver agenda
• Supporting a flexible maternity and parental benefits plan modelled on the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan
• Broadening benefits to the self-employed
• Legislate equal pay for work of equal value
• Allowing seniors to earn income, including RRSP withdrawals, equal to as much as 10 per cent of the benefits they receive under Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) before they see their supplement reduced

A statement from the caucus vows that it will take action to ensure the Pink Book becomes part of the electoral policy for the Liberal party during the next election.

Ontario Liberal MP Judy Sgro said Monday that dollars lost in the spending cuts were less concerning than the message being sent.

"I think Harper and his Conservative government, based on their policies, would clearly prefer women would stay barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and move us backwards 40 years,'' she said.

New Democrat MP Olivia Chow said the Liberals were not qualified to be presenting policy platforms on women.

"It doesn't matter what colour it is," Chow said of the bright pink, 28-page document. "The Liberals have a history of breaking their promises.

"Remember the Red Book?" she asked, in reference to Liberal campaign platforms she said were never fully honoured.

She said women may be barefoot and pregnant under the Conservatives, but they remained too poor to pay for rent and feed their children during 13 years of Liberal governments that cut employment insurance, refused to standardize the minimum wage and did little to address child poverty.

"Those things didn't just happen since (the federal election in) January," she said, arguing that the New Democrats, whose caucus is 41 per cent female, have advocated women's economic security all along.

With files from The Canadian Press