I think you need to break down what you mean by 'women's issues' - that's quite a broad topic. What specific issue/set of issues do you want to look at and why are they important? When you have a clearly defined research area I would do a lot of reading in appropriate journals. Pick out names that seem to be important and find local (or not depending on your circumstances) academics working in a similar subject. Read their papers, see if your ideas fit with theirs (and can add something new). Use your background to frame the issue. Then I would start writing a proposal.