About Us
UN Women is the global champion for women and girls. Its establishment in 2010 was applauded around the globe and offers a historic opportunity to jump-start progress for women and for societies.
UN Member States and women’s rights advocates joined together to create UN Women. They recognized that making gender equality a reality in the lives of women and girls demanded an organization with worldwide reach, sizable expertise and significant resources.
Whether the issue is political leadership, safety in conflict zones, protection from violence or access to public services, women have been forced to stand on the sidelines for too long. Now women must come to the centre as leaders, advocates and agents of change.
UN Women builds on a strong foundation by merging four UN entities with solid standard-setting research, programming and advocacy experience in almost all countries. These include the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
UN Women stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas:
- Increasing women’s leadership and participation;
- Ending violence against women and girls;
- Engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes;
- Enhancing women’s economic empowerment;
- Making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.
