Since her preface in the year 1959, Barbie has been portrayed in many different avatars. You have seen her as an US President, Astronaut, Doctor and many. This year, you can see her as an entrepreneur.
At the American International Toy Fair week, Mattel unveiled its “Entrepreneur Barbieâ€_x009d_ that joins Barbie’s “I Can Beâ€_x009d_ career line. The new Entrepreneur doll sports it’s signature coloured tight pink dress paired up with Stilettos, carrying a Tablet and a Smartphone with a black leather bag.
Mattel’s this portrayal of the business Barbie received a lot of flak from the Trade Pundits. According to them, by presenting the Entrepreneur Barbie the company seems to be completely out of touch with the modern business women. This new doll seems to be depicting an unrealistic image of the female entrepreneur. In today’s time, the women entrepreneurs are not known in the business world on the basis of their Hemline, they are rather known for their confidence and risk taking capacity. The working women be it a teenage girl or a married women, would not prefer wearing the Barbie entrepreneur attire, she would rather be wearing a jeans and carrying a cool laptop bag. While I agree that women today are known for their performance and their careers are not defined by their hemlines I have to disagree on the fact that modern business women would dress any different. Ya maybe the pink would be a bit too bright but what they have gone right with is the Barbie carrying the tablet and the Smartphone, displaying the tech savvy era.
With a lot of women going the entrepreneurial way it might be a good move by Mattel to incorporate this insight into a real product. And also, the recent surveys show that 20% of the business with revenues above $1 million are owned by women.
Mattel spokeswoman, Michelle Chiding said that Barbie is “ready to take on anything that comes her wayâ€_x009d_. She then added that “We always try to make career Barbie a reflection of the times. Women entrepreneurs are more prevalent now and they’re growing in number. [It’s] a great way to encourage girls to also learn about this roleâ€_x009d_
Agree or disagree with the Trade Pundits on a wrong attire for the Business Barbie. Share your feedback with us in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter.
Ruchi Sharma
Janani S Koushik
Kanishka Pariani
