The Ministry of Women and Child Development convened the second preparatory meeting of the BRICS Women’s Working Group virtually under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship. Chaired by Anil Malik, Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the meeting aligned with India’s overarching chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” Delegates from BRICS member states focused on strengthening multilateral collaboration, sharing institutional knowledge, and establishing operational frameworks to advance women-led development across the bloc. A primary outcome of the deliberations was the scheduling of the upcoming BRICS Women’s Ministerial Meeting, set to take place in Kochi, Kerala.
Key Priority Areas and Institutional Frameworks
The preparatory meeting structured its discussions around two primary deliverables to create measurable progress across member states.
Repository of Best Practices
- Objective: Establish a unified, cross-border digital knowledge platform to document successful national policies, legislative models, and grassroots interventions.
- Focus Sectors: Case studies on reducing the gender pay gap, expanding the care economy, and protecting informal women workers.
- Implementation Mechanism: Member countries will contribute verified policy outcomes to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and South-South technical cooperation.
Capacity Building Framework for Digital and Financial Inclusion
- Digital Skills Training: Joint programs designed to upskill women in e-commerce, cloud computing, and basic digital literacy to minimize the gender digital divide.
- Financial Integration: Creating targeted credit lines, micro-financing architectures, and entrepreneurship incubators specifically tailored for women-led startups.
- Data-Driven Policy Making: Developing standardized metrics across BRICS to track the direct impact of financial access on women’s economic independence.
India’s Proposed Structural Interventions
During the preparatory consultations, India presented specific proposals designed to deepen the institutional depth of the BRICS labor and gender welfare tracking mechanisms.
BRICS Women’s Employment Observatory
India proposed the creation of a dedicated observatory to gather granular data, conduct regional research, and host structural policy dialogues. The initiative aims to utilize existing International Labour Organization (ILO) policy instruments, including the South4Care platform, to address systemic gaps in female labor force participation rates.
BRICS Capacity-Building Forum on Advancing Social Security
This proposed forum targets the formalization of labor markets. It emphasizes extending statutory social protection benefits—such as maternity coverage, insurance, and retirement pensions—to women working within emerging economic sectors and the gig economy.
Evolution and Timeline of Gender Frameworks within BRICS
The integration of gender-focused architectures within the BRICS framework has progressed from informal dialogue to structured ministerial and business alliances.
| Year | Milestone / Event | Operational Focus |
| 2015 | First BRICS Civil Forum (Russia) | Initial formal recognition of gender equality as a core driver of sustainable economic development. |
| 2020 | Establishment of BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (WBA) | Created to promote women’s entrepreneurship and integrate women-led businesses into global supply chains. |
| 2021 | Inaugural BRICS Women’s Ministerial Meeting | Formalized state-level ministerial oversight to align national gender goals across the bloc. |
| 2026 | Second Preparatory Meeting of the Women’s Working Group | Advanced consensus on digital inclusion, financial tools, and the upcoming Kochi Ministerial Summit. |
IASPOINT Booster Facts for UPSC
- BRICS Chairship 2026: India holds the rotating chairship of BRICS for the year 2026, guiding the agenda across all working groups, tracking committees, and the main summit.
- Venue for Ministerial Meeting: The upcoming BRICS Women’s Ministerial Meeting is officially scheduled to be held in Kochi, Kerala.
- Knowledge Partners: The preparatory sessions integrate technical inputs from global organizations, including UN Women and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
- Expanded BRICS Architecture: Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the alliance expanded its structural footprint by officially welcoming Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as full members.
- Nodal Ministry: Within the government of India, the Ministry of Women and Child Development acts as the nodal administrative agency coordinating the BRICS Women’s Working Group agenda.
- Theme of India’s Presidency: The official guiding framework for India’s 2026 presidency is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”