Introducing the ENWE Network: ONA VE

Meet the latest addition to the ENWE network: a database from Slovenia featuring 580 women experts already.

The European Network for Women Excellence (ENWE) is proud to welcome ONA VE (She Knows in English), Slovenia’s leading initiative for increasing female representation in media and public events, into its growing network. 

Founded in 2021, ONA VE is an independent and non-profit association committed to making female experts more visible and accessible in Slovenia’s media and public debates. The organization maintains a growing database of 580 women experts across diverse fields, providing journalists, event organizers, and institutions with direct access to highly qualified female professionals.

Beyond its database, ONA VE offers free training sessions, networking events, and initiatives designed to help women develop public speaking skills, build professional connections, and strengthen their confidence in sharing their expertise.

“Women too often doubt their expertise or hesitate to speak up in public,” said Mateja Malnar Stembal, president of ONA VE. “Sometimes, we even fear calling ourselves experts in our own fields. With ONA VE, we are not only solving the issue of visibility but also building a network of collaboration, support, and knowledge-sharing. Expertise has no gender, no age—only competence, and women have plenty of it.”

“I strongly agree with many assessments that the way women are represented in the media shapes how they are perceived in society,” she continued. “When we change media representation, we change perceptions, opportunities, and ultimately, the society we live in.”

To learn more about the organization, read our interview with ONA VE below.

Can you introduce ONA VE and tell us what inspired its creation?

In June 2021 ONA VE was founded as a voluntary, independent, and non-profit organisation out of a clear need to amplify women’s voices in the media, public events, and expert discussions.

Too often, when journalists or event organizers sought a female expert, they struggled to find one – not because women weren’t qualified, but because they weren’t as visible or readily available as their male counterparts. Additionally, we wanted to encourage women to say “yes” when invited to speak.

ONA VE not only solves the problem of finding competent female speakers but also builds a network of collaboration, mutual support, and knowledge-sharing.

How does your database work, and how do you select the women experts included in it?

The ONA VE database is based on voluntary participation. Any woman who considers herself an expert in a particular field can register. Before a profile is made public, the ONA VE team reviews each entry to ensure its completeness.

How can users access and connect with the women experts on the platform?

Our database is accessible via www.onave.si, where users can browse or search for experts using keywords and fields of expertise. Once they identify a relevant expert, they can reach out via a contact form on the website. The expert receives the inquiry directly in their email inbox, ensuring privacy and efficiency. While an email and phone number are required at registration, these details remain private – only the expert and the ONA VE team can access them.

What impact has ONA VE had so far, and what are you most proud of?

The change is happening gradually, but we’re seeing progress. One of the biggest signs of impact is when journalists independently start diversifying their sources, making a conscious effort to include more women in their reporting.

A major milestone was reached in April 2024, when we signed the 50:50 Pledge with RTV Slovenia, committing the country’s largest public broadcaster to gender balance in selecting guests for news programs.

Another key project completed in 2024 was the mapping of streets and monuments dedicated to women in Slovenia. Our findings, now publicly available, exposed the severe underrepresentation of women in public spaces.

To ensure wider accessibility to historical narratives, we reprinted Pozabljena polovica (The Forgotten Half), a book featuring 129 biographies of pioneering Slovenian women. This project reignited discussions on the representation of women in textbooks, museums, and public discourse.

Additionally, we are honored to serve as national coordinators for the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), the world’s longest-running research initiative tracking gender representation in news media.

Last but not least, we are proud that in just three years, 580 female experts have joined our network, ready to correct the current media imbalance where one female voice is heard for every three to four male voices.

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.