Mattel Launches President and Vice-President Barbie To Empower Girls

As the election rose to fever pitch, Mattel, the makers of Barbie, has come up with a special President and Vice-President all-female edition of the iconic doll. 

In a statement, Mattel hopes to inspire girls to become leaders as the company launches its newest collection.

“With just 39 per cent of girls saying that they want to be a leader, President and Vice-President Barbie will serve as an inspiration for girls to pursue their dreams and imagine what they can become,” the statement said.

Mattel already had presidential and candidate Barbies since 1992, but the all-female ticket is what sets this collection apart.

Barbie general manager and senior vice president Lisa McKnight said that the new collection aims to empower girls.

“The President and Vice-President dolls continue our efforts to expose girls to inspiring careers that are underrepresented by women.

“We see this doll set as a timely and topical platform to further the conversation around female leadership,” she said.

Mattel said it had partnered with She Should Run, a non-partisan women’s leadership group, in coming up with the new political dolls. The new dolls, which come in a variety of hair colours, skin tones and shapes, are sold in pairs and are part of Mattel’s Barbie Careers line of dolls.

The group’s co-founder and CEO Erin Loos Cutraro said that they believe women are as capable as men to lead a country.

“At She Should Run, we believe that women of all backgrounds should have an equal shot at elected leadership positions and that our country will benefit from having a government with varied perspectives and experiences.”

Democrat Suzan DelBene, who was among the members of congress to receive a set of the dolls, took to Twitter to commend the concept.

“Great to see the President and VP Barbie set, drawing attention to the need to help girls envision themselves as leaders,” she wrote.

Barbie has been through a drastic makeover in the last two years, with Mattel adding new skin tones, eye and body shapes as well as hairstyles. The changes hoped to address criticism that the original doll, featuring its wasp waist, oversized bust and pale skin, sent the wrong message about beauty to children.

Source: Abc.net.au