Deadline: February 13, 2026
Proposals are invited for the Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) 2026. The WORBE program is an Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) initiative that supports employers subject to the Employment Equity Act (the Act) in advancing equity for the four designated groups through sector-specific strategies and collaborative partnerships.
Now, with $2 million available annually, for up to three years, WORBE will invest its focus on measurable progress. While previous funding rounds emphasized awareness and education, the 2026 Call for Proposals will invest in innovative, scalable, and results-driven initiatives that go beyond awareness to full implementation.
To support this work, WORBE will provide access to a third-party evaluator to help projects set baseline measurements and apply consistent evaluation methods throughout the project lifecycle. Whether you’re a business, non-profit, academic institution, or a coalition of changemakers, WORBE offers a platform to test innovative ideas, build inclusive partnerships, and scale what works.
Objectives
The goal of the 2026 WORBE Call is to support projects that can clearly demonstrate how their design fulfills each of the program’s core objectives:
- Identify and eliminate employment barriers against persons in one or more designated groups.
- Improved representation of one or more of the designated groups within workplaces, occupational groups or sectors with low representation.
- Increased understanding among stakeholders of industry-specific barriers to diversity and inclusion and effective human resources practices to address them.
- Development of new inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry-specific needs.
Funding
- The 2026 WORBE Call offers up to $500,000 per year for three years using a pay-for-performance funding model. This approach ties funding to the achievement of specific, attainable results and outcomes, ensuring that projects remain focused on measurable impact and accountability.
Eligibility
Open to:
- Academic institutions.
- Employer associations (unionized or non-unionized) in Canada.
- Federally regulated private sector organizations.
- Not-for-profit organisations.
- Private sector organizations.
- Individuals* (incorporated, or who are willing to incorporate).
*Individuals or groups of individuals are encouraged to apply, but to be eligible to receive funding, they must establish a Canadian legal entity (such as a corporation or a not-for-profit organization) capable of entering into binding agreements in Canada.
Assessment Criteria
All applications will be carefully reviewed by an independent panel of sector-related experts (review panel). They will assess your proposal based on:
- How well your project aligns with WORBE’s objectives (see below).
- Whether your project plan is realistic.
- Whether the project is capacity-ready, with plans for staffing, infrastructure, and timelines, ensuring the resources needed for the project are fully defined and
- Your ability to build on the project’s success and measure results.
Application
For more information, visit WORBE.
