It follows an audit of the governing body by independent certifiers FLOCert in October.

No other sporting governing body has received the recognition, described as a "leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard".

EDGE Certification are currently working with 300 organisations in 50 countries.

They claim their work helps companies create "an optimal workplace for women and men" while benefiting from it.

The UCI has been awarded the first level of the certification, called EDGE Assess. 

"This award confirms our organisation's commitment in this area and our first steps towards achieving equality between our employees," the UCI said. 

"The UCI is the first international sports federation to undertake this process and achieve this level of recognition."

Officials now hope that the UCI can achieve the next level of the certification, EDGE Move, within two years.

In a bid to achieve this they will draft and implement an "ambitious" internal policy covering areas such as equal pay for men and women.

Work flexibility, the prevention of harassment and the promotion of diversity and integration will be other areas explored.

"As the head of our administration, I am very proud that our Federation has obtained EDGE certification," UCI director general Amina Lanaya said.

"We are committed to an ambitious project to make the UCI an exemplary international sports body in terms of internal governance. 

"We will continue our efforts to have a gender equality policy in place by 2021 to ensure the well-being, equality and promotion of all our employees." 

The UCI claim that a number of gender equality measures have been launched in recent years.

These include charters for the UCI administration and official ceremonies at World Championships.

The recognition of ethical principles by UCI road teams and enhanced athlete protection in the UCI Code of Ethics are said to be other improvements, while the organisation's statutes have been revised.

This allows for new requirements to be set for the minimum representation of each gender within the governing bodies of the UCI, Continental Confederations and National Federations.