Barbie has been a career role-model for little girls (and boys) for decades. And now in honor of International Women’s Day 2018, Barbie is releasing a series of iconic, real life female role models as dolls. The inspiring women dolls collection includes Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, and NASA physicist Katherine Johnson.
The collection was created after Mattel conducted a survey of 8,000 mothers around the world and discovered that the majority of those mothers are worried about the kind of role models their daughters are exposed to.
“Girls have always been able to play out different roles and careers with Barbie and we are thrilled to shine a light on real life role models to remind them that they can be anything.” Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and general manager of Barbie.
In addition to these iconic figures, Mattel also introduced a new series of “Shero” dolls this week. The collection features 17 modern day role-models, with a diverse range of backgrounds and careers.
The collection includes Wonder Woman’s director, Patty Jenkins, along with these other modern day female role models:
- Chloe Kim snowboarding champion
- Nicole Adams Obe boxing champion
- Ibtihaj Muhammad fencing champion
- Bindi Irwin conservationist
- Hui Ruoqi volleyball champion
- Ashley Graham model & body activist
- Misty Copeland Principal ballerina
- Helena Darroze world-renowned chef
- Sara Gama soccer player
- Martyna Wojciehowska journalist
- Gabby Douglas gymnastics champion
- Xiaotong Guan actress & philanthropist
- Ava Duvernay film director
- Yuan Yuan Tan prima ballerina
- Leyla Piedayesh designer & entrepreneur
With 86% of US moms worried about the type of role models their daughters are exposed to, we are committed to shining a light on empowering female role models in an effort to inspire more girls.
Join us by sharing your role models using #MoreRoleModels. #IWD2018 pic.twitter.com/FnEuBsDh23
— Barbie (@Barbie) March 6, 2018
The dolls are currently available for pre-order and will be available soon in stores.
Overall, we’re super appreciative that Mattel came out with these 2 thoughtful new series of dolls for International Women’s Day. But it begs the question – if toy makers like Mattel had started producing dolls like these 50 years ago, would the world be a better place for women now?
