A federally incorporated nonprofit · Ottawa
You already have what it takes.
Empower'em is a community built by and for women of colour: South Asian, Black, East Asian, Arab, Latine, mixed, and everyone in between. We started as one workshop in a living room. Now we're a national mentorship community, and we're just getting started.
100% free · Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation
Not in Ontario? We're building a community for women of colour across Canada, beyond Our Way Forward. Join the waitlist to hear first when the portal opens.
Info session · Free · Recorded
Missed the info session? Watch it anytime.
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Mentorship matched by lived experience, not just industry.
There are things many of us carry without saying out loud.
Most of us have gotten good at holding a lot at once: cultural expectations, career ambitions, the parts of ourselves we don't always get to bring into a room. You've walked into spaces knowing you belonged and still had to prove it anyway.
Whether you're first-gen, queer, navigating a disability, carrying grief, or still figuring out what you want, all of it belongs here. You've been building this whole time. We just want to make sure you don't have to do it alone.
What we build together
Growth that doesn't ask you to pick a lane.
Personal growth, career growth, and community: most spaces treat these as separate tracks. We don't. A mentor who helps you name what you're carrying is also helping you negotiate your next raise. Showing up for someone else's growth is part of your own.
What this feels like
A space where you don't have to explain yourself from the beginning.
We match you with a mentor who already knows the context: your background, your identity, what you're navigating. Many of our mentors speak multiple languages, so we factor that in too.
In most spaces, women of colour spend energy explaining their names, their backgrounds, their experiences before anyone actually listens. Here, you skip that step.
Hear from the community.
“It's a powerful feeling of validation, having someone else be able to put words to something you've been carrying when it comes to navigating this world as a woman of colour.”
Aimen · OWF Mentor
Find your place
There's more than one way to be part of this.
Whether you're ready to apply, ready to give back, or just want to stay close to something that feels right.
Free · Mentorship · Next intake October 2027
Our Way Forward
A free 24-week mentorship program matched by lived experience. Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Mentee applications for Cohort 7 are now closed. Join the waitlist to hear first when Cohort 8 opens in October 2027.
Join the waitlistGive back · Mentors
Mentor someone who needs what you know.
You've navigated this world as a woman of colour and kept going. That lived experience is exactly what mentees are looking for. Not a curriculum, a person who's been there.
Apply by November 13 to be matched with a Cohort 7 mentee. Mentor applications stay open year-round.
Become a mentorEvents · Open to everyone
Show up in person, or on a call.
From hikes to homecomings, our events are where the community actually gets to be in a room together. Some are open to everyone, some just for alumni.
See what's coming upLooking for guides, recordings, and templates built for this community? Join the waitlist to hear first when the portal opens and get first access to Circle membership spots.