9/7/2026
UN Women is known for promoting gender equality, women's rights and the empowerment of women and girls around the world. It is the United Nations entity dedicated specifically to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. UN Women works with governments, civil society organizations and other partners to support laws, policies and programmes that improve the rights and opportunities of women and girls.
The organization was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 and became operational in January 2011. It brought together four previously separate UN entities working on women's rights and gender equality.
UN Women works across several major areas related to women's rights and gender equality. Its activities include supporting women's political participation, economic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, promoting women's participation in peace and security processes, and helping governments develop gender-responsive laws and policies.
The organization's work is closely connected with Sustainable Development Goal 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
UN Women also helps countries implement international agreements and commitments relating to women's rights.
UN Women is part of the United Nations system and is formally known as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
Its creation was a major UN reform intended to bring together expertise and resources relating to gender equality. The four entities whose work was consolidated included UNIFEM, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and INSTRAW.
Some of the organization's most important areas include:
UN Women also supports efforts to increase women's representation in decision-making positions and strengthen women's access to economic opportunities.
Although its mandate focuses on women and girls, UN Women's work on gender equality involves the entire society. Gender equality affects governments, communities, workplaces, families and institutions.
The organization works with men and boys as well as women and girls because changing discriminatory social norms and institutional structures requires broad participation.
UN Women has a global presence and works with countries and partners in different regions. Its current transparency information reports that the organization worked in 135 countries and territories during 2022–2025.
Its activities can include policy advice, technical assistance, research, advocacy, capacity building and support for programmes implemented with national and local partners.
Before UN Women was established, several different parts of the UN system worked on gender equality and women's empowerment. The General Assembly decided in 2010 to create a single, stronger entity that could coordinate these efforts more effectively.
The goal was to create a stronger institutional voice for women and girls within the United Nations system.
Today, UN Women is widely recognized as one of the main international organizations working specifically on women's rights and gender equality.
For people searching for what UN Women does, UN Women mission, UN Women gender equality, or UN Women women's rights, its central role can be summarized as supporting governments and partners in accelerating progress toward equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
Unchannel - 9/7/2026