UNIFEM provided financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that promoted women's human rights, political participation and economic security.

It worked to increase awareness throughout the UN system of gender-responsive budgets as a tool to strengthen economic governance in all countries.

"[5] UNIFEM also helped to ensure that UN programmes followed guidelines developed by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

[14] The UNVFDW was given an expanded mandate by the General Assembly in February 1985, when it became the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

[10] Under resolution 39/125, the new fund was called on to support and advocate for innovative and catalytic activities that would give voice and visibility to the women of the developing world.

[17] Also in the 1990s, African Women in Crisis (AFWIC) was created by UNIFEM to focus on issues facing people in Africa.

[19] Women at the conference decided that it was important that they "claim formal power to directly shape public policy".

[20] UNIFEM created a trust fund to help support twenty-three projects to combat gender-based violence and war crimes against women.

[24] This allowed the organization to complete and work on projects for UNDP that related to women's rights and gender equality.