BRICS Gender Forum: Putting Women at the Centre of Development

The South African Institute of International Affairs argues that BRICS nations must move beyond treating women's issues as a separate silo and instead integrate gender inclusivity into core development goals. The text highlights significant wage gaps in Brazil and South Africa and notes that while South Africa leads the bloc in gender parity rankings, other members lag behind. It specifically calls for gender-sensitive approaches to automation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the inclusion of women in the new BRICS peacekeeping working group to increase the longevity of peace initiatives, and the recognition of women's roles as primary caregivers in the success of vaccine dissemination campaigns.

• Significant gender-based wage inequalities exist within the BRICS bloc, with Brazilian women earning an estimated 23% less than men and South African women earning 27% less than men.
• South Africa ranks 19th globally in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap report, leading its BRICS counterparts, while Russia (71), Brazil (90), China (100), and India (108) rank significantly lower.
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution poses a disproportionate risk to women, particularly in China, where automation may eliminate millions of assembly jobs largely occupied by women, although Chinese women have also led in internet company launches and self-made billionaire rankings.
• Integrating women into peace negotiations and implementation increases the likelihood of a peace initiative lasting two years by 20% and fifteen years by 35%.
• The success of vaccine campaigns, a priority for the 2018 summit, depends on the social and economic welfare of women, who act as primary caregivers and healthcare decision-makers; maternal education levels directly correlate to vaccination rates.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2018). BRICS Gender Forum: Putting Women at the Centre of Development. https://saiia.org.za/research/brics-gender-forum-putting-women-at-the-centre-of-development/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. BRICS Gender Forum: Putting Women at the Centre of Development. 2018. https://saiia.org.za/research/brics-gender-forum-putting-women-at-the-centre-of-development/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=BRICS Gender Forum: Putting Women at the Centre of Development |date=26 July 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/brics-gender-forum-putting-women-at-the-centre-of-development/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2018brics, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{BRICS Gender Forum: Putting Women at the Centre of Development}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/brics-gender-forum-putting-women-at-the-centre-of-development/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }