Paulette Kreté is the winner of the North Brabant Woman in the Media Award 2025. Kreté has won the Media Award for her advocacy in breast cancer screening and medical innovation.The ceremony took place on Thursday morning at the YvYa Foundation’s office in Eindhoven. Kreté received a sculpture created by artist Ellen Buchwaldt from jury chair Erna van Poppel. In addition to her regional title, Kreté is now a contender for the national Woman in the Media Award 2025. The national winner will be announced in early March.
Focus on early detection
Kreté’s work stems from her personal experience with the limitations of current breast cancer screenings, particularly for younger women and those with dense breast tissue. Through the YvYa Foundation, she advocates for better awareness of early symptoms. She also raises funds for the development of the Early Warning Scan, a promising, painless technology for early detection. Voters praised Kreté for her tireless dedication to improving women’s healthcare. Supporters described her as a determined pioneer who has successfully used the media to raise awareness of life-saving innovations.
Regional runners-up
- Marije Cox: A former midwife and specialist in pregnancy loss. She was recognised for breaking the silence surrounding the impact of grief after a lost pregnancy.
- Cristel van de Ven: The former chair of the national association for self-employed professionals (VZN). She was nominated to represent the interests of the self-employed in political and public debates.
Addressing gender imbalance
The awards aim to highlight the continued under-representation of women in Dutch news media. According to the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP 2025), women account for only 32 per cent of people featured in the news. More notably, only 15 per cent of experts and commentators are women.
Janneke van Heugten, director of Vaker in de Media, noted that society still views male experts as the default. She argued that women rarely appear in roles where they interpret events or speak for a group. According to Van Heugten, this lack of visibility limits the influence women have on how the public views the world.
The award highlights the need for more female voices in the news, where women remain underrepresented as expert sources. This year marks the final edition of the awards as the organisers shift their focus to maintaining an expert database for journalists.
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