In what is clear a step in the right direction regarding women’s equality, toy company Mattel has released a doll that is bound to bode well among feminists everywhere--game developer Barbie.
The $12.99 doll appears surprisingly easy-going, dressed in denims, sneakers, a jacket and t-shirt--just like any self-respecting coder should be. And the authenticity doesn’t end there--the creators even went a step further to ensure that the code she was working on was real enough.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Molly Proffitt, CEO of Ker-Chunk Games LLC who worked with Mattel on this doll said, “The computer has [Javascript] on it and you can see various instances of game engines on her laptop. I really know that girls need an icon that shows that they can be a part of the [tech] space and Barbie does that. She has power to tell girls they can be makers and builders.”
Some years ago, Mattel had to apologize for a book featuring a demeaning portrayal of a character called Computer Engineer Barbie--one who necessarily required help from the boys to fix her pink computer--game developer Barbie does appear redeeming enough.
At time when societies are working towards changing the male-dominated skew towards fields like science, engineering and mathematics, this is certainly a welcome move.
