Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund 2026: Eligibility

2. Eligibility

Applicants

All applicants under this call for proposals must meet the following criteria:

• be a Canadian organization
• be a not-for-profit organization
• be legally constituted
• have proof of incorporation or be created under an Act
• have experience in advancing equality for women

We will prioritize funding to the following organizations:

• women’s organizations
• Indigenous women’s organizations

If we receive enough applications from these organizations, we may not assess those from other types of organizations.

For this call for proposals, we will use the following definitions for eligibility:

• Women’s organizations: Their primary mandate and objective is to promote equality for women in Canada. They include organizations that advocate, increase awareness, engage, and act to advance women’s equality. The use of the word “women” is inclusive of both cisgender and trans individuals.
• Indigenous women’s organizations: They represent First Nations, Inuit, or Métis women’s interests and are representative of the population they serve. Their work includes advancing equality for Indigenous women in Canada. The use of the word “women” is inclusive of Two-spirited, cisgender, and trans individuals.
• Other equality-seeking organizations: They work to address disadvantage and discrimination. They challenge barriers to equal access, opportunities, and resources and seek social justice for individuals and communities. 

Note: You can only submit one application for this call for proposals.

Funding

The maximum amount of funding for the whole project is

• up to $625,000 for projects with a local reach
• up to $1,000,000 for projects with a regional, provincial, territorial, interprovincial, and interterritorial reach
• up to $1,400,000 for projects with a pan-Canadian reach

Please consider the following:

• For projects with a pan-Canadian reach: Project activities must have an impact in at least four WAGE regions and be carried out in both official languages. WAGE may waive this requirement for Indigenous organizations. It depends on the needs of the population involved in their project.
• Projects that cover one of Canada’s three largest municipalities, Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver, would qualify as regional.
• There are often extra living and travelling costs in northern or remote areas. You may apply for an extra 35%, but only for activities in these areas. See Activity location type for more information.

Duration

Projects can be for up to 60 months. They should start no earlier than November 2026. 

Activities

Before starting an application, we encourage you to take the free online course: Introduction to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus).

GBA Plus is a process used to assess how diverse people may experience policies and programs. The “plus” in GBA Plus shows that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences. We all have many identity factors that intersect to make us who we are. It also considers many other identity factors like ethnicity and age.

Eligible activities

All activities must align with the objective of this call for proposals.

Your project must propose a new systemic change project. It must include an external project evaluation to measure and assess the project’s impact. This includes an evaluation plan and a final evaluation report. If your work plan and budget do not include an external evaluation, you will need to add it to your project if approved. No additional funds will be available after approval.

Examples of eligible activities:

• change laws, policies, or practices that are not inclusive for women or that discriminate against women
• design and put in place ways to increase women’s opportunities and participation in the job market
• design and put in place ways to increase women’s leadership in democratic, civic, public, or private sectors
• work with communities to address harmful attitudes and barriers to diverse women
• engage women and girls with lived experience to develop solutions to systemic barriers
• help stakeholders who can influence change understand barriers for women and put in place solutions
• work with other stakeholders to influence change

Priorities

We will prioritize funding to the following organizations:

• women’s organizations
• Indigenous women’s organizations

We may consider a range of proposals to advance equality in women’s leadership and economic prosperity. However, we will prioritize proposals that seek to

• improve women's access to leadership
• advance women in STEM, trades and other traditionally male-dominated fields
• create opportunities for women in an AI-driven economy

We may also consider proposals that address any gaps identified by the department. Gaps could include geography, or focus on women who are:

• Indigenous
• living with a disability
• members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities
• newcomers or migrants
• Black or racialized
• members of an official language minority community
• seniors
• young women and girls
• living on a low income
• living in a rural, remote, or northern community

Ineligible activities

The department will not support activities that

• deliver services or programs, such as career help and support services. To be clear, you cannot create new or expand existing services or programs.
• build the capacity of your organization
• scale a project or initiative
• further distribution of funds
• charge a fee to project participants, such as individuals or stakeholders
• train employees or volunteers unless this increases the organization’s capacity and not an individual’s capacity
• create unfair advantage or profit
• involve construction and renovation
• involve the purchase, lease, or long-term rental of real property
• are religious or politically partisan in nature
• take place or address a related issue abroad, such as initiatives that advance equality for women in a country other than Canada
• involve lobbying
• are violent or adversarial rallies, demonstrations, and social protests
• are boycotts
• are litigation or legal advocacy
• are partisan political candidate engagement

The following activities will only be eligible as part of a broader project if they are necessary to advance systemic change:

• information campaigns
• awareness-raising
• networking or partnership development
• strategy development
• delivery of training to women, such as leadership or occupational training
• conferences
• studies
• publications or newsletters
• research

Costs

The department will only fund eligible costs. Eligible costs are those that are necessary to support the purpose of the project. We will only reimburse eligible costs incurred after the signature of the agreement. Read the examples of eligible costs for more information.

Total government funding for the project must not exceed 100% of eligible costs. This includes federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal assistance for the same goal. We will adjust the level of funding and seek reimbursement if necessary.

There are two categories of eligible costs:

• Direct costs: expenses related to the delivery of the project that are linked to specific activities. We may cover 100% of these costs if necessary.
• Administrative costs: expenses incurred to manage and support the project. We will only cover a portion of these costs. See examples below. 

The department will determine the final value of funding. 

Eligible costs 

The department will fund as many projects as possible to have a greater impact, but funding is limited. Please only request eligible costs that are necessary to deliver the project. This allows other projects to be funded. For this call for proposals, eligible costs include:

Direct costs that are necessary to deliver activities, such as

• travel costs, which must not exceed the rates in the National Joint Council Travel Directive. This includes the Travel Directive’s Kilometric Rates, Meals Allowances, Accommodation - Canadian city rate limits and the Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures.
• salaries and benefits for staff related to project delivery
• honoraria and professional fees, including those paid to Indigenous Elders for their services
• materials and supplies
• spaces used for project activities
• translation
• training related to the project
• publicity and promotion
• other costs such as snacks or meals served during key project activities

Administrative costs as a portion of costs necessary to manage and support the project, such as

• project oversight
• office space for project staff
• phones
• computer equipment
• IT maintenance
• accounting
• insurance

WAGE offers two options for administrative costs:

• up to 20% of the total funding requested from WAGE. If you choose this option, you will need to provide details on these costs.
• up to 15% of the total funding requested from WAGE. In this case, you do not have to provide details on these costs.

You can only choose one option. Read the budget section for more information.

Include audit costs for projects of $300,000 and above in your administrative costs. The department requires the following on an annual basis:

• externally reviewed statement of revenues and expenditures for projects between $300,000 and $999,999
• audited financial statements for projects of $1,000,000 and above

Ineligible costs

Ineligible costs include

• core or operational funding for existing or ongoing activities, projects, engagement, or advocacy
• general core or operating costs for the organization that are not related to this project such as
  • rent
  • utilities
  • phones
  • property taxes
  • equipment for staff
  • insurance not required for this project
  • audit costs not required for this project
• capital expenditures, such as land, buildings, vehicles, and other major capital costs, except for computer equipment such as desktops, portables, and small peripherals required to carry out the project
• purchase of alcohol and cannabis
• salaries, allowances, and benefits for directors of a board or other governance body
• performance pay and bonuses, severance pay, long-term sick leave, and parental leave
• budget deficits, debt reduction, organizational reserves, or endowment funds
• costs added to a project over the estimated project value to cover unexpected costs
• costs incurred before a funding decision is made
• further distribution of funds
• payment of debts or coverage of losses