BRICS+ Women Leaders Call for Binding Declaration Language and Institutional Mechanisms Ahead of Summit

Source: ANI (Asian News International) | Original Published At: 2026-09-10 15:05:59 UTC

Key Points

• Women leaders from BRICS+ countries called for binding language in the grouping’s declarations and institutional mechanisms to give continuity to commitments on women’s leadership ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit.
• The call was made at the BRICS+ Dialogue 2026, organised by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with representatives from Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Iran and India discussing ways to institutionalise women’s leadership in the innovation ecosystem.
• Ruby Sinha said the first-ever Joint Statement under the BRICS Women Track was achieved in Kochi, but commitments still need mechanisms to continue beyond a single BRICS chairship.
• The discussion highlighted a funding gap for women-led businesses, citing reports that women-led startups receive less than 2 per cent of global venture capital funding and that women hold about 15.4 per cent of partner or decision-making roles at venture capital firms.
• Former BRICS Sherpa Sanjay Bhattacharyya said BRICS should push for greater participation of women in leadership positions within its project-oriented cooperation framework and institutions such as the New Development Bank.
• South African representatives said the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance has a database of more than 100,000 startup businesses and is working toward a BRICS Women Advancement Fund framework aligned with the New Development Bank.
• The panel called for shared BRICS+ platforms for knowledge exchange, cross-border business mechanisms, entrepreneurship financing and digital access.