Report of the history of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Through eight time periods the chapters describe the foundation of CSW (1946), securing the legal foundations of gender equality (1947-1962), promoting the participation of women in development (1963-1975), the CSW and UN decade for women (1976-1985), putting women on the global agenda (1986-1995), advancing progress for women (1996-2005), accelerating the realization of gender equality and empowerment of women (2006-2015) and realizing gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls (2015-2030). For more than 70 years, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is advocating for the realization of gender equality, the empowerment of women and recognition of their human rights.