Dutch EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes has been awarded the biannual Aletta Jacobs Award by Groningen University.

The prestigious prize is given to Dutch women who set an example in, and advocate, female emancipation. The former Dutch government minister and current EU Digital Technology Commissioner said she was totally overwhelmed when she heard she was to get the prize.

In her acceptance speech given on Monday, International Women's Day, she pointed out that education, flexibility and confidence are indispensible for women who want to improve their position. But while she also said that more women should be in top jobs because that would improve diversity, she remains opposed to the imposition of quotas for women in senior positions.

Crisis management
The EU Commissioner speculated that women would have had a different approach to the banking crisis because they are less focused on their egos, less likely to follow well-worn paths, and also less likely to assume that they are right. But on the other hand, Ms Kroes warned, women often tend to regard each other as rivals, which makes them less disposed toward helping one another.

The Aletta Jacobs Award is named after the first woman student in the Netherlands, who acquired a medical degree. After her graduation from Groningen University in 1877, Dr Aletta Jacobs worked as a general medical practitioner in Amsterdam. She also campaigned for birth control and women's voting rights.

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