BRICS Women's Working Group: WCD Ministry holds first prep meet under India's Presidency
Synopsis
Under India's BRICS Presidency, the WCD Ministry's first Women's Working Group preparatory meeting has set a four-pillar agenda — governance, digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, and climate action — pointing toward high-stakes ministerial meetings in Kochi in July 2026. It is the clearest signal yet that India intends to carry its G20 gender legacy into the BRICS arena.
Key Takeaways
The WCD Ministry held the first preparatory meeting of the BRICS Women's Working Group on 1 May 2025 in virtual mode.
Four priority areas were identified: women in governance and leadership , financial and digital inclusion , entrepreneurship and skill development , and climate action, food security, and nutrition .
Outcomes will feed into the BRICS Women Working Group Meeting (6–7 July 2026) and the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting (8–9 July 2026) , both in Kochi, Kerala .
Knowledge partners included UN Women and FICCI , alongside BRICS member nation representatives and Indian government ministries.
The initiative builds on India's G20 2023 legacy, which first shifted the global framing from women's development to women-led development .
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on Thursday, 1 May 2025, convened the first preparatory meeting of the BRICS Women's Working Group in virtual mode, under India's BRICS Presidency. The session covered four priority areas: women in governance and leadership, financial and digital inclusion, entrepreneurship and skill development, and women's role in climate action, food security, and nutrition.
Setting the Agenda
Caralyn Khongwar Deshmukh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, set the tone by reaffirming India's commitment to women-led development, recognising women as key drivers of economic growth, governance, and social transformation. The discussions are expected to feed into two landmark events to be held in Kochi, Kerala — the BRICS Women Working Group Meeting (6–7 July 2026) and the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting (8–9 July 2026).
Key Priority Areas Discussed
Guided by India's BRICS chairship theme — 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability' — the meeting distilled global concerns into four actionable priority areas. These were: women in governance and leadership; financial and digital inclusion; women's entrepreneurship and skill development; and women's role in climate action, food security, and nutrition. BRICS member nations, in their interventions, congratulated India on its chairship and expressed support for the identified priority areas, according to an official statement.
Who Attended
Beyond representatives of BRICS member countries, the meeting was attended by various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and knowledge partners, including UN Women and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The multi-stakeholder format signals India's intent to ground the BRICS women's agenda in both policy and civil society perspectives.
India's Track Record on Gender at Multilateral Forums
This initiative builds on a significant precedent. In September 2023, the G20, under India's Presidency, shifted the global conversation — for the first time — from women's development to women-led development. The G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration 2023 incorporated the Chair's Statement adopted at the G20 Ministerial Conference for Women Empowerment held in Gandhinagar on 2–4 August 2023. That declaration focused on enhancing economic and social empowerment, bridging the gender digital divide, driving gender-inclusive climate action, and securing women's food security and well-being. G20 leaders also agreed to establish a Working Group on women's empowerment, with its first meeting mandated under the Brazilian G20 Presidency. According to the official statement, this trajectory reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consistent support for gender parity and equity at the highest multilateral levels.
What Comes Next
The outcomes of Thursday's preparatory meeting are expected to shape the agenda and declarations of the July 2026 Kochi meetings. With BRICS expanding its membership and India holding the chair, the Women's Working Group has an opportunity to translate multilateral commitments into concrete, measurable frameworks for gender inclusion across the Global South.
Point of View
But the gap between declaration and delivery remains wide. The G20's women-led development framework produced landmark language, yet measurable outcomes across member economies have been uneven. The BRICS Women's Working Group faces the same structural challenge: translating shared priority areas into enforceable commitments across economies as divergent as China, Russia, South Africa, and Brazil. The Kochi ministerial will be the real test of whether India can move this agenda from aspirational to operational.
NationPress
1 May 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the BRICS Women's Working Group?
The BRICS Women's Working Group is a multilateral body under India's BRICS Presidency focused on advancing women's rights and inclusion across member nations. It will hold its formal meeting on 6–7 July 2026 in Kochi, Kerala, followed by a ministerial meeting on 8–9 July 2026.
What were the priority areas discussed at the first preparatory meeting?
The meeting covered four priority areas: women in governance and leadership; financial and digital inclusion; women's entrepreneurship and skill development; and women's role in climate action, food security, and nutrition. These will shape the agenda for the July 2026 Kochi meetings.
Where and when will the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting be held?
The BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting is scheduled for 8–9 July 2026 in Kochi, Kerala, preceded by the BRICS Women Working Group Meeting on 6–7 July 2026 at the same location.
How does this connect to India's G20 gender agenda?
In September 2023, India's G20 Presidency shifted the global focus from women's development to women-led development for the first time. The BRICS Women's Working Group builds on that legacy, applying similar priority areas — digital inclusion, economic empowerment, and food security — to the BRICS framework.
Who participated in the first preparatory meeting?
The meeting was attended by representatives of BRICS member nations, various Indian government ministries and departments, and knowledge partners including UN Women and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
