South Africa is once again leading the global conversation on women’s economic empowerment, with Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga calling on BRICS nations to transform the bloc into a global force for women-led development.
Addressing the BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Affairs this week, Chikunga argued that women’s empowerment must be treated as a core driver of economic growth, innovation and sustainable development — not a side issue.
“Our shared task is to ensure that women’s empowerment is not treated as a narrow social policy issue, but as a central developmental imperative,” she said.
A Forum Born in South Africa
There is a proudly South African story behind the platform itself: the BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Affairs was established during South Africa’s BRICS chairship in 2023, creating a dedicated forum for member states to coordinate on women’s rights, economic empowerment and inclusive development. Since then, it has become an important mechanism for sharing policy experience and finding practical ways to grow women’s participation in the economy.
The BRICS grouping — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, joined by newer members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — represents a growing share of global economic output. Across these countries, women are increasingly driving entrepreneurship, innovation, agriculture, digital services and community development.
Chikunga said the meeting’s focus areas — governance and leadership, financial and digital inclusion, entrepreneurship and skills, climate action, food security and nutrition — are deeply interconnected and critical to achieving meaningful gender equality. “Through the leadership of India, we believe this platform will help us advance joint initiatives on women-led development — recognising women as leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and drivers of sustainable change across our economies,” she said.
South Africa’s Homegrown Initiatives
The Minister showcased two bold South African programmes that are drawing international attention.
First, government is finalising a Women’s Economic Assembly framework to increase women’s representation in procurement structures, state-owned enterprise boards and decision-making bodies across the public and private sectors. Grounded in Section 9 of the Constitution, the initiative aims to move women beyond consultative participation to genuine representation and influence.
Second, South Africa is advancing a Cooperative Banking Institution Initiative designed to help close the estimated US$1.7 trillion global financing gap faced by women entrepreneurs. The vision: a women-owned and women-controlled banking architecture that tackles limited collateral, gender bias in lending and financial products that fail to serve women properly.
A Safety Net That Reaches Millions
Chikunga also highlighted South Africa’s social protection programmes, including the Child Support Grant, which reaches more than 13 million children — one of the developing world’s most extensive social safety nets and a powerful support for women-headed households.
From founding the BRICS women’s forum to pioneering women-controlled banking, South Africa is demonstrating that gender equality and economic growth are not competing goals but the same goal. As Chikunga’s message travels through the BRICS network, it carries a distinctly South African conviction: when women lead, economies rise.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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