On 14 June 2017, heads of international organizations, permanent missions and civil society entities in Vienna met at the Vienna International Centre and pledged to break down gender barriers.

Ambassador Leigh Turner served as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Austria from 2016 to 2021 and served as a Vienna-based International Gender Champion throughout his tenure. As Ambassador, he promoted a strong focus on gender equality in all aspects of his work at the Embassy and within the international organizations. While serving, he also published several books - his most recent is the Istanbul thriller "Palladium", published on 17 May 2022. Since becoming an alumnus of the International Gender Champions network, Ambassador Turner has gone on to write more books, the next of which – “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy”, to be published by Czernin Verlag in spring 2023 – draws from his experience as a diplomat. This is an excerpt about fostering the empowerment of women in the diplomatic world from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Diplomacy," exploring Leigh's 42-year career and what it tells us about diplomacy and life. You can read more about his books and writing at rleighturner.com.

On 21 April 2022, the Council of Women World Leaders and International Gender Champions co-hosted a leadership exchange with the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, H.E. Helen Clark, on the role women play in developing successful climate policies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created conditions making it easier for vulnerable people to become victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking.