The article is devoted to the analysis of acts adopted by the United Nations in the field of women's rights and combating gender asymmetry. The authors emphasize that the activities of the UN contribute to the development of the gender dimension of social policy and the legal provision of equal status for both sexes. Representatives of the UN have repeatedly recorded trouble in the "women's issue". At this time, in particular, almost total illiteracy of the female population was recorded. This circumstance was regarded as a brake and a shear obstacle in the matter of emancipation. Appealing to the tools of gender sociology, in particular to the concept of a new gender order, it is shown that at present a special role in ensuring women's rights is played by a specially established in 2010 structural unit under the auspices of the United Nations - UN Women. With the goal of improving the status of women, this entity is guided by the principle that gender equality is at the heart of the human rights and human values ​​of the United Nations.