Deadline Date: September 29, 2026
The European Commission is now accepting applications to support organisations in implementing Gender Equality Plans and advancing gender equality.
The focus areas include recognition of organisations with the most significant impact resulting from the implementation of their Gender Equality Plans serving as role models for others, and strengthening gender equality and inclusiveness within the European Research Area. The prize categories include Sustainable Gender Equality Champions, which recognize organisations with a sustained record of activity and high achievement through the implementation of their Gender Equality Plans; Newcomer Gender Equality Champions, which recognize organisations without a sustained history of gender equality activity that have recently completed their first Gender Equality Plan and demonstrated significant progress; and Inclusive Gender Equality Champions, which recognize organisations that have developed innovative inclusive Gender Equality Plans addressing intersectionality and links between gender and at least two other social categories such as racial or ethnic origin, social origin, sexual orientation and gender identity, or disability, and can demonstrate concrete results from implementation.
The initiative is designed as a complementary tool to the Gender Equality Plans eligibility criterion in Horizon Europe and as a mechanism for advancing inclusive Gender Equality Plans and policies within the framework of the ERA Policy Agenda.
The award provides total funding of €400,000 and will be granted to four organisations.
Eligible applicants must be legal entities including private entities or public bodies such as research organisations and higher education establishments, and must be established in eligible countries. Eligible countries include EU Member States including overseas countries and territories, non-EU countries associated with Horizon Europe, and candidate countries for EU accession.
Applicants must have an attached current Gender Equality Plan and, where applicable, the plan on which the application is based, ensuring compliance with minimum process-related requirements set under Horizon Europe. For Category 2 applicants, organisations must have completed the implementation phase of their first Gender Equality Plan by the call closure date and must not have had prior sustained activity in gender equality policies.
For more information, visit European Commission.
