Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund 2026: About this call for proposals

1. About this call for proposals

Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) works to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression through the inclusion of people of all genders, including women, in Canada’s economic, social, and political life.

Context for the call for proposals

Improving Women’s Access to Leadership Opportunities

Despite gains, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions across both private and public sectors. This priority aims to help ensure decision-making bodies better reflect the populations they serve to strengthen Canada’s economy and democracy. 

Advance Women in STEM, Trades, and Other Traditionally Male-Dominated Fields

Women’s labour force participation in Canada has slightly improved in recent years. However, this has not addressed fundamental issues, such as

• women remain concentrated in lower-paid jobs
• women face a persistent wage gap
• women find fewer opportunities to advance in their fields

A clear example of this is that women are still underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, trades and other traditionally male-dominated fields, and especially in senior roles. They also face lower retention and fewer pathways for advancement. Women also face new challenges and opportunities. The fast spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into workplaces could impact women’s economic participation. It is important to identify opportunities for women in an AI-driven economy.

This call for proposals will support projects that seek to change these conditions. It will also support projects that seek to drive equal opportunity for women. The focus must be on changes to social or institutional elements to address the root causes of inequality.

Objective of this call for proposals

The goal is to improve women’s access to leadership and economic opportunities. Projects must seek to change social or system elements to address the root causes of unequal opportunity.

What is systemic change?

A system is a way of thinking about and making sense of the world. Present-day systems create gender inequality and reinforce it. Systems have various parts, but for this call for proposals, we will focus on the following elements:

• gender norms and attitudes
• authority, voices at the table, and decision-making power
• networks
• resources
• policies and practices

Systemic change refers to changing one or more of the above elements. The goal of the change is to allow women and girls to fully take part in the economic, social, democratic, and political life of Canada.

What are systemic change projects?

Systemic change projects aim to remove barriers to gender equality in systems. For example, a group could work with institutions to change policies and practices biased against women.

Systemic change projects do not aim to change women to fit or adapt to discriminatory systems. The following example is not a systemic change project: training women to adapt to an institution’s biased policies and practices. WAGE would not support such a project.

Systemic change projects can work on different elements of a system. In the context of working with the construction sector as an example, a project could:

1. Change gender norms and attitudes: Work to change beliefs, assumptions, and stereotypes based on gender and other identity factors.
   Example: Train managers and staff in the construction industry to change harmful gender stereotypes. The objective is to support an inclusive work environment. In this case, the system has changed when a survey shows that the training reduced the presence of harmful gender stereotypes.
2. Support changes to authority, voices at the table, and decision-making power: Work to address power imbalances to ensure women are part of the dialogue and solution.
   Example: Test a mentorship program to promote women in leadership roles in the construction industry. In this case, systemic change has occurred when a company integrates the mentorship program.
3. Increase networks and collaboration: Build and strengthen partnerships to work across sectors and break down silos. The aim is to increase the reach, impact, and sustainability of gender equality efforts.
   Example: Partner with universities and colleges to hire and retain women in the construction industry. This could include an agreement to hire women as coop students or interns annually. In this case, systemic change has occurred when formal elements are put in place to support the partnership to continue after the project.
4. Encourage more effective and equitable sharing of resources: Share, mobilize, and redistribute resources to support equality. These can include knowledge, information, and funding.
   Example: Share best practices on alternative childcare arrangements for parents who cannot work the 9-to-5 norm. Work with the construction industry to test the arrangements. In this case, systemic change has occurred when a company has implemented the best practices.
5. Change policies and practices: Create, change, or remove policies and practices to address sexism and other barriers to gender equality. You can do this at various levels, including in organizations, governments, and sectors.
   Example: Develop human resources policies to prevent and address sexual harassment at work. In this case, systemic change has occurred when the company adopts the policies.

Projects should work on elements that will lead to meaningful change. They do not need to address every element listed above.

Key components of a systemic change project

While there is no standard approach to systemic change, here are the key components to guide your project:

• Understand the issue: Gather facts on the issue you want to address. You need to understand its root causes, know who you will need to partner with to make changes, and talk to the people most affected.
• Take strategic action: Identify what you plan to achieve and how to do it.
• Engage: Consult and work with others on the design and implementation of your project.
• Learn and adapt: Use a constant learning approach to your project when possible.