These are the stories that hide in the back of mainstream newspapers, but make it to the front if women are in charge. And if women journalists and editors think these stories are important then yes, the women in the reading public are likely to care about them too.

Let me give you some examples. Many stories curated to Newsmavens are heartbreaking accounts of cultures and systems failing women. Like the case of 15000 women forced into unpaid labor since the 1970s for the Catholic order Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Or the case of the former MP from Austria who was sued after going public about the sexual harassment she was experiencing.

Our editors also catch meaningful milestones, like the now infamous “Wolf pack” verdict in Spain that convicted 5 men who gang raped a woman during the running of the bulls in Pamplona with sexual abuse, but not rape. When public outcry brought thousands into the streets in protest, the legal loophole that made the verdict possible, and does the same in 23 other European countries, came under much needed scrutiny.

It happened this past Easter when Croatian priests “godsplained” to congregations that believing in god will better protect women then the Istanbul Convention against violence, and continues to be commonplace in Hungary, where ruling president Viktor Orban speaks openly about women having no place in public affairs, and the ruling party claims gender studies is not an “economically rational” field of study.

Finally, women involved with Newsmavens have gravitated to stories about people who have the least. While mainstream media often showcases the big players and global change makers, women show more interest in those who do not impact big politics or big business, but whose lives are invariably affected by both.

Like the parents of disabled children camped out in the corridors of Poland’s parliament, whose support funding was just cut by the same government that paid out mass family stipends to win the last elections. Or female Eastern European migrants forced to leave their families behind to earn a living abroad, who are suffering from a particular kind of debilitating depression called “the Italian syndrome.” Or European Roma communities when they are violently attacked or ostracized.

I believe this is the biggest value that women bring to the news narrative.

Recent history in the US, Poland, Hungary and Turkey reiterates a well known feminist fact — when politics veers away from liberal democracy, women’s rights are often the first to be thrown under the bus. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why we have a sensitivity to the effects of political decisions on society.

Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that cause without effect is only part of the story. To understand the times we live in and keep our readers holistically informed, we need to be giving equal attention to both.

So until the industry sources its top brass from a diverse group of leaders and women begin to have equal influence on the news narrative, Newsmavens is going to continue balancing out the story in Europe.