Introducing the ENWE Network: Brussels Binder

Meet the latest addition to the ENWE network: a database of over 2,000 women policy experts.

We are excited to welcome The Brussels Binder to the ENWE network of women expert databases, reinforcing our commitment to promoting diversity and equality in media and policy discussions.

The Brussels Binder is the leading organization advocating for gender-balanced panels in EU policy debates. Since its official launch in 2017, it has built a comprehensive database of over 2,000 female policy experts, providing a valuable resource to amplify women’s voices and ensure more inclusive representation in European policymaking.

To learn more about the organization, operating as an ASBL under Belgian law and managed by a board and a dedicated team of volunteers, read our interview with The Brussels Binder president, Emőke Péter, below.

Can you introduce The Brussels Binder and tell us what inspired its creation?

The Brussels Binder is the leading organization in championing gender-balanced EU policy debates. At its core is an extensive database of female policy experts, serving as a vital resource to amplify women’s voices in policy panels. Through promoting balanced representation, we aim to cultivate more inclusive and democratic EU policy debates.

In Brussels – the epicenter of European decision-making – politicians, journalists, activists, and experts congregate to address a spectrum of political issues. These policies, debated at influential conferences, shape our collective European future. While the topics are diverse, the panels are often homogeneous, with certain policy areas dominated by male voices and often excluding women voices.

This scenario catalyzed the inception of the Brussels Binder in 2015, when a network of women from Brussels-based think tanks united to tackle this imbalance. At that time, studies revealed that women comprised only one-third of speakers at Brussels events. Officially launched in 2017 as an ASBL under Belgian law, the Brussels Binder has since curated a database of approximately 2,000 female policy experts, providing a practical tool to enhance women’s participation in policy discussions.

How does your database work?

It is simple. Let’s imagine you are organizing a policy panel in the field of digital policy. You go to https://brusselsbinder.org/, and on the top you see the highlight “find an expert”, you can select the sector (private, NGO and more), the area of expertise you look for (in this case, “Digital Economy and Society”), the language you want the expert to speak, the country of residence you want her to be from and you get multiple profiles. 

You can click on the profiles and get more information about the expertise and skill set of the person, and also it can lead you to their LinkedIn profile so that you can contact them and invite them to the panel you are organizing.

How can users access and benefit from the platform?

By following the outlined steps described above.
It is designed both for policy experts and event organizers. Policy experts can enhance their visibility by creating profiles while event organizers gain access to a diverse selection of female speakers in their field, streamlining the process of finding the right speaker for their events.

What impact has The Brussels Binder had so far, and what are you most proud of?

The Brussels Binder has made a significant impact by raising awareness of the disparity in female representation and sparking important conversations on fair gender representation in policy debates. It also delivered a practical tool, offering a comprehensive database of female experts that organizations and event organizers can use. The initiative has empowered women to amplify their voices in policy debates, thereby fostering a more inclusive and balanced dialogue.

We wish we already achieved our mission. Despite progress, we are still far from perfectly balanced panels in Brussels, as evidenced by the weekly photos we receive of “male-only panels.” As such, The Brussels Binders mission remains crucial in today’s political climate.

ENWE – European Network for Women Excellence is an advocacy group committed to creating a network of European databases that offer an extensive selection of prestigious female profiles for interviews, conferences, and panels. Find out more about our network of partners here.