The United Nations (UN) is a complex international organization comprising 193 member states and consisting of about 25 specialized agencies. Those most directly connected with gender equity issues (i.e., the equal inclusion of women and men as participants and beneficiaries in social, economic, and political arenas of decision-making) are the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW), UN Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Committee, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and UN Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The UN Economic and Social Council is also concerned with gender issues to the extent that gender is mainstreamed (i.e., incorporated in all policy areas) in UN work.

The UN frames gender issues as a human right and seeks to promote ...