The article presents the historical origins and critical analysis of the activities of the United Nations in addressing the issue of gender equality, identifies the stages of this activity. This analysis is carried out on the basis of the reflection of those historical realities that led to the evolution and real changes in UN policy on gender issues. The reasons for the difficulties in realizing the equality of men and women, formally declared by the UN, are reflected during the two decades of the organization's activity. The author focuses on the significance of the feminist movement of the third wave, which not only allowed the adoption of qualitatively new documents concerning the problem of women's emancipation, but also influenced changes in the structure of the UN, and also contributed to the formation of the corresponding new substructures of this international organization and ensured a certain degree of effectiveness of their actions. The author comes to the conclusion that the historical dynamics in the context of which the UN activities developed led to the transformation of this organization into a truly international one, covering global gender problems, which opens up prospects for their solution at a qualitatively new level.