A free 24-week virtual mentorship program for women of colour, matched by lived experience rather than career stage.
Round 6 is underway for Ontario residents. Round 7 applications open late 2026.
Apply for the next roundA note on eligibility: OWF is currently funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and open to Ontario residents. The wider Empower'em community, including the newsletter, events, and the Em'bassador program, is open to all women of colour across Canada. We're working toward national program access.
It's not that the intentions are bad. It's that the lived experience gap is too wide. You end up spending your session explaining context that your mentor has never had to live.
OWF matches you with someone who already knows the context: your background, your identity, what you're actually navigating. The conversation starts further along than it usually does.
Every element was built for this community specifically, not adapted from somewhere else.
Six dedicated sessions with your matched mentor, shaped by what you actually need rather than a fixed agenda.
Virtual gatherings that bring the full cohort together. The connections formed here often outlast the program.
Facilitated sessions on identity, self-advocacy, and navigating professional spaces as a woman of colour.
Smaller, honest spaces for the things that don't fit elsewhere: mental health, belonging, the weight of it all.
Low-key connection outside the structured agenda. Some of the best community moments happen here.
Materials built for women of colour navigating growth, not repurposed from spaces that weren't made for us.
We look at your cultural background, what you're navigating, and what kind of support you need, including language where that matters to you.
Ten of our mentors have returned across multiple rounds. Not because they had to. The connection here is real.
Round 7 opens late 2026. Follow us on Instagram to hear first.
Mentees
Mentors
Sessions
Events
Returning mentors
Languages
OWF is currently funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and open to Ontario residents. The broader Empower'em community is open to all women of colour across Canada. We're a federally incorporated nonprofit working toward national program access.
That's okay. Most people applying are coming to this for the first time. You don't need a polished career question ready, just openness to the conversation. That's genuinely enough.
It means we look beyond your industry and career stage. We consider your cultural background, your identity, and the kinds of challenges you're navigating, and we pair you with someone who has moved through something similar. The context is already there from the first session.
No. OWF is completely free, made possible by the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Youth Opportunities Fund.
Yes. What's shared in your mentorship sessions and peer support spaces stays there. We don't share your application, your profile, or anything you say in community spaces without your permission.
Stay on our newsletter. You'll hear about future rounds and community opportunities without any pressure to apply before you're ready.
Round 6 is underway. Get on the list for Round 7, or step in now as a mentor.
