Women’s rights

Celebrate how far we've come by sharing our timeline, over 100 years of milestones for women's rights.Read More

For centuries, women have been struggling for the recognition of their rights. Women’s rights are still being dismissed by United Nations (UN) human rights bodies and even governments, despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex.Read More

All around the world, women share the same rights. The right to live a life free from violence and slavery; the right to be educated; the right to earn a fair and equal wage; the right to own property; the right to expression and freedom to vote.Read More

The beginning of the fight for women’s suffrage in the United States, which predates Jeannette Rankin’s entry into Congress by nearly 70 years, grew out of a larger women’s rights movement. That reform effort evolved during the 19th century, initially emphasizing a broad spectrum of goals before focusing solely on securing the franchise for women....Read More

With technology and innovation playing an integral role in our everyday lives, it is not easy to imagine development in the 21st century without it. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, explores the ways in which innovation can work for gender equality, boost investment in gender-responsive social...Read More

A look at three challenges women and girls face along their STEM journeys   Martha Alicia Benavente, from Tucurú, a small municipality in Guatemala trained for six months to become a solar engineer. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown When a curious mind is given resources and opportunities to learn, research, test, teach, and invent, the possibilities...Read More