The Crown Princess is a passionate advocate for health, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls. She is committed to creating awareness and respect and ensuring compliance with women and girls´ sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning and the reduction of maternal and child mortality.

Crown Princess Mary was a member of the High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development and serves as patron of several international organizations and agencies, including the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, as well as a number of Danish NGOs, including the Danish Refugee Council and Maternity Worldwide. The Crown Princess is also an Influencer of Women Deliver’s ‘Deliver for Good Campaign’ and is a member of the Leadership Council of the International Center for Research on Women. 

In 2007, the Crown Princess founded The Mary Foundation with the mission of fighting social isolation. Under her leadership the foundation brings together untraditional partners to develop and manage projects and programmes that focus on prevention of social isolation, as well as the creation of opportunities for empowering vulnerable individuals and groups who find themselves socially isolated. The foundation’s focus areas are: domestic violence, bullying, and well-being and loneliness. 

She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and an honorary member of various associations and societies.