Barbie is celebrating next week’s International Women’s Day by honoring 12 global female role models, including Shonda Rhimes, with one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls in their likeness to help empower the next generation of female leaders.
These new Barbie dolls are part of the Barbie Dream Gap Project, a multi-year global initiative created in 2018 to raise awareness around limiting factors that prevent girls from reaching their full potential.
“I think it’s incredibly important for young girls to have role models, especially given on the Dream Gap research that validates the idea that role models are really important for young girls in helping them to believe that they can achieve their dreams,” Rhimes said in an interview with Barbie.
The Shondaland CEO continued: “It’s obvious to me that you cannot be what you cannot see. And if you don’t see who looks like you, who seems like you, who does anything like you, then you start to believe you can’t do it either. So the idea that we’re putting these role models out there, that there are women out there, dolls out there, toys out there that can look like you and feel like you and seem like you … I think that is incredibly important.”
Completing the 12 global female role models being honored with their own Barbie dolls are Women’s Startup Lab founder and CEO Ari Horie; Pat McGrath Labs founder Pat McGrath; Canada Learning Code and Ladies CEO and co-founder Melissa Sariffodeen; All4Spas founder Adriana Azuara; Sala 8 founder Doani Emanuela Bertain; Smiling Mind chair and co-founder Jane Martino, fashion designer Lan Yu; SOKOLA founder and director Butet Manurung; Italian food website founder Sonia Peronaci; Global Digital Women CEO and co-founder Tijen Onaran; and digital creator, videographer and Always More author Lena Mahfouf.
As part of Barbie’s festivities for International Women’s Day, the doll brand has also launched BarbieStyle Collection, a curated shop from diverse, female-founded brands featuring a range of limited edition, giftable products in fashion, beauty, and accessories – all designed to reflect the iconic aesthetic of Barbie’s most fashionable Instagram account @BarbieStyle.
The BarbieStyle Collection includes the following products:
Dudley Stephens’ Palmer Puff Sleeve Turtleneck ($168)
NETTE’s Dream Land Candle ($82)
Autumn Adeigbo’s Zebra Padded Headband ($88)
Larroude’s Barbie Dolly Mule ($290) and Erin Clutch ($240)
Tenoverten’s Barbie Trio: Robertson, Rodeo, and Malibu nail color ($36)
Live Tinted’s Huestick in Origin multi-stick makeup ($24)
For each product within the BarbieStyle Collection sold on BarbieStyle.com in the month of March, Barbie’s parent company, Mattel, will donate 5% of proceeds from the sale and match the donation to the Barbie Dream Gap Project.
Also in line with Barbie’s International Women’s Day celebrations, the doll brand has also entered its first-ever global Barbie Dream Gap Project partnership with Inspiring Girls International, a charitable organization dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with female role models.
Together, Barbie and Inspiring Girls International will work with local schools in Spain, Italy, France, the U.K., Poland, Brazil, Australia, and the U.S. to deliver Dream Gap workshops featuring advice from various trailblazing Barbie role models, reaching an estimated 3,500 girls in the next year.
Barbie has also teamed up with Boss Beauties (a female-led global initiative that creates opportunities for girls and women through cutting-edge collaborations) for a Barbie NFT.
Featuring a diverse assortment of Barbie careers, this Barbie NFT is part of the Boss Beauties Role Models NFT collection, designed to empower women and girls at the forefront of technology and creativity.
The Barbie NFT will be auctioned by Boss Beauties between March 11th and 12th via OpenSea, with proceeds benefiting the Barbie Dream Gap Project.