9/7/2026
The full official name of UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The organization is commonly known simply as UN Women.
UN Women was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 as part of an effort to strengthen the UN's work on gender equality and women's empowerment. The organization became operational in January 2011.
The official name describes the organization's core mandate: gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Unlike some UN organizations whose names refer to a specific technical area such as health, food or refugees, UN Women focuses specifically on women's rights and gender equality across political, economic, social and development issues.
Its work covers both the advancement of women and the elimination of discrimination against women and girls.
Before UN Women was established, different parts of the United Nations system were responsible for various aspects of women's rights and gender equality.
The General Assembly decided to consolidate these structures into one organization in order to create a stronger and more coherent UN-wide approach.
UN Women brought together the work of four existing entities:
The creation of UN Women was approved by the General Assembly in July 2010.
The name reflects three closely connected concepts:
United Nations: UN Women is part of the United Nations system.
Gender Equality: The organization works toward equal rights, opportunities and participation for women and men.
Empowerment of Women: UN Women supports women and girls in gaining greater access to economic opportunities, political participation, leadership, education, justice and other areas.
UN Women's mandate includes supporting Member States as they establish global standards for achieving gender equality and helping countries implement those standards.
It also works to coordinate the UN system's work on gender equality and promote accountability for progress.
Its work is closely connected to Sustainable Development Goal 5, which focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
No. UN Women is not an NGO. It is a United Nations entity established by the General Assembly.
However, UN Women works extensively with NGOs, civil society organizations, women's organizations, governments, academic institutions and other partners.
This partnership model allows the organization to support gender equality programmes at national, regional and international levels.
The UN General Assembly created UN Women on 2 July 2010 through Resolution 64/289. The organization became operational in January 2011.
This makes UN Women one of the newer major entities within the United Nations system.
For anyone searching UN Women full name, what does UN Women stand for, or United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the answer is therefore the same: UN Women is the short name for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
Unchannel - 9/7/2026