UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

03/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/18/2026 11:18

When women lead, peace follows: 25 years of the women, peace and security agenda at the United Nations

Over the last 25 years, UN Women and its predecessor organizations have worked across multiple entry points, regions, and actors to move the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda forward.

UN Women is uniquely able to understand the shifting dynamics and urgent needs of women and girls because of our strong partnerships with local civil society. At the same time, UN Women works in partnership with Member States to channel the messages of local women into national, regional, and global decision-making spaces.

This timeline demonstrates that sometimes what looks like a series of seemingly unrelated activities is actually a set of strategic choices, gaining momentum and coalescing over time to affect larger impacts-as small streams flow into a mighty river. This timeline also shows that the WPS agenda can be a solution to even the most entrenched conflicts-yet it is a solution that has never been fully implemented.

The successes showcased in this timeline suggest that, with broader-and deeper-political support and adequate financing, the transformative potential of the WPS agenda can be realized.

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Bibliographic information

Resource type(s): Advocacy products Infographics
UN Women office publishing: Peace and Security, Prevention and Resilience Section
Number of pages
43
UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women published this content on March 18, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 18, 2026 at 17:18 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]