The IO+ Why the future is all about women
Our weekly overview offers an summary of the most interesting stories around key innovations, delivered to you every Sunday.
Published on December 14, 2025
Fe+Male Tech Heroes
Bart, co-founder of Media52 and Professor of Journalism oversees IO+, events, and Laio. A journalist at heart, he keeps writing as many stories as possible.
The future is all about women. This world was dominated for way too long by men who love to bond and fight with other men. Before you get mad at me, of course, I know that, ideally, the world sees a healthy balance between men and women. But hey, before we reach that point, there’s still so much terrain to be gained that I stand by my first remark: the future is all about women.
Carmen van Vilsteren
For that reason (and many others), I was happy to be on the jury for last Thursday’s Fe+Male Tech Heroes Awards. The event, elegantly hosted by Hilde de Vocht and Ingelou Stol, was one of the highlights of the year. It not only showed how important it is (and will remain to be) to have women in crucial positions, but it was also a testimony to the achievements of those who have already shown the way. The big winner was Carmen van Vilsteren: she is the definition of a trailblazer. From pioneering microsurgical robotics to leading Health~Holland, she has fundamentally shaped the Dutch MedTech landscape. Her biggest innovation is the path she has carved for women in engineering. She didn’t just break the glass ceiling; she reached back down to pull others up through mentorship and advocacy. Carmen proves that the future of technology is diverse, human-centric, and undeniably female.
Read more about Carmen and the other winners in our report of the evening.
New editor-in-chief for IO+
Closer to home, we also celebrate women. I am happy and proud to announce that our very own tech woman, Elcke Vels, has been appointed editor-in-chief at IO+. Elcke is the successor of Aafke Eppinga, who recently left us for another job. Elcke has already shared some great ideas for IO+, which we will undoubtedly hear more about in the coming months. Great to have you as our editorial leader, Elcke!
Jazine ten Houten
Wait, there’s one more woman who deserves our attention this week, and that’s Jazine ten Houten. She sent us an open letter showing that girls score just as well on the final exam as boys, but are still more often given lower follow-up school recommendations. Prejudices still seem to determine the advice given at school. For that reason, girls are much less likely to be approved for a technical profession. This is detrimental to them and bad news for a society that urgently needs technical talent. “After so many years of the same research results, it’s time to take real action,” says student Jazine. She herself chose a technical field: Chemical Engineering at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Go Jazine! (and read all about her case here)
Peter Wennink
Okay, we also need to thank one male person this week: Peter Wennink. On Friday, he published his long-awaited report on the future well-being of the Netherlands. It turned out to be full of urgency and discomfort: “The future will not wait,” he warns. And: “Without a leap in productivity, targeted tech investments, and a different administrative culture, Dutch prosperity will erode.” Read our comprehensive report here, containing all the essential conclusions. We also created an infographic with the highlights:
A selection of other highlights from this week:
- Stellar Space Industries takes aim at Very Low Earth Orbit
- How seven students unmasked Russia’s ‘drone motherships’
- Using gamification to support children through an MRI
- Funding gap threatens Dutch hydrogen network
- Reform and capital: keys for Europe to create more unicorns
- Techleap and TNO warn “it’s a new ballgame” for Dutch deeptech
- School recommendations disadvantage girls, and the tech sector
- “The energy industry needs to understand more about compute”
- A national vision and deeptech focus: ideas to scale Dutch tech
- Intelic AI rewrites rules of drone warfare with unified command
- Vydar wants to make GPS-denied navigation a European stronghold
Want to check all the other articles as well? Here you go.
A podcast every day
We keep saying it: every morning at 6:30 a.m. (on weekdays), a new podcast is waiting for you. In it, our AI colleagues Oliver and Shelby discuss the two most interesting topics of the day. This makes the IO+ Daily the ideal way to fill your head with optimistic news from the world of innovation and technology. Tomorrow too.
ioplus daily podcast trailer
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