The International Gender Champions initiative is a leadership network that brings together female and male decision-makers to break down gender barriers. It began in Geneva in 2015 as a network of Ambassadors, senior UN officials and private sector leaders who committed themselves to undertake concrete and measurable commitments in support of gender equality.

Director General Yukiya Amano and Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Management, Mary Alice Hayward, also became Gender Champions, joining the heads of a number of Permanent Missions, as well as heads and senior leaders from the UNOV, UNIDO, CTBTO, UNOOSA and the OSCE in supporting gender equality.