Advancing women’s health is fundamental to achieving universal health coverage, health equity and gender equality. Health underpins women’s quality of life and enables the realization of other human rights, supporting women’s full participation in social, economic and political life.
Our work Promoting women’s human rights and achieving gender equality are core commitments of the UN Human Rights Office. We promote women and girls’ equal enjoyment of all human rights, including freedom from violence, sexual and reproductive rights, access to justice, socio-economic equality, and participation in decision-making.
We envision a world in which systems of oppression and harm are dismantled, and women and girls regardless of race, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic ...
A UN Human Rights report highlights widespread gender-based violence, poor health provisions, and discriminatory legal systems disproportionately affecting women and girls in criminal justice detention worldwide.
International Women’s Day 2025 Upholding women's rights leads to a better future for all Promoting and protecting gender equality makes sense for justice, for prosperity and for a better common future. Yet around the world we are witnessing a growing pushback against women’s rights and gender equality, advances which were painstakingly made over decades. Gender-based violence is persistent ...
Moreover, many women, including transgender, gender diverse and intersex women, face compounded forms of discrimination—due to factors such as their age, race, ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic status—in addition to gender-based discrimination.
Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time. Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other ...