Justice

Barbie's New Job Is Drawing a Huge Reaction

June 22nd 2016

Barbie's been a busy woman lately.

She's undergone body makeovers, got a special Misty Copeland doll, and now she's got a new career: game developer.

For $12.99, you can get a Barbie (when it isn't out of stock) that "looks casually cool in an industry-inspired outfit" and comes with "a laptop (with real game code graphics)" among other accessories, proclaims Mattel.

Barbie Game DeveloperMattel - mattel.com

Molly Proffitt, CEO of Ker-Chunk Games, LLC., helped Mattel with their latest Barbie creation to ensure accuracy. "The computer has [Javascript] on it and you can see various instances of game engines on her laptop," she told The Huffington Post. "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."

Many are reacting with positivity and enthusiasm.

A few are lending their cautious snark.

And some are responding with sexist remarks.

Which wasn't surprising to some women in tech.

Game Developer Barbie could help pave the way for girls aspiring to get into tech.

Women in tech are still largely outnumbered by men. "In 2008, women on average held 25 percent of IT-related jobs in the US, a drop from the 36 percent occupied in 1991," reports Forbes. And while women in other areas dominated by men may be rising, there are other areas in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics where the number of women is actually getting smaller than it used to be:

women in STEM statistics graphHuffington Post - huffingtonpost.com

This new Barbie could even have a positive influence on a girl who is figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up.

Share your opinion

Did you play with Barbies?

No 18%Yes 82%