In the last few years, Mattel – the makers of childhood faves Barbie – has become far more woke.
We’ve had gender-neutral and disabled Barbies as well as key historical figures memorialised in doll form.
And now there’s Judge Barbie to encourage more girls to aim for different careers.
The brand wants youngsters to explore different industries such as the legal field which lacks female employees.
Mattel’s decision comes after it chose a judge as its Career of the Year when they discovered that only 33% of sitting US state judges are women.
In the UK, the latest figures show that 29% of court judges and 46% of tribunal judges were female but only 8% were from BAME backgrounds.
So, female representation still has some distance to go. With that in mind, Mattel hopes to make youngsters realise that these positions are also available to them.
To reflect young girls, Judge Barbie comes in a number of different skin tones and hairstyles.
As part of her job description, she also comes with a customary black robe and a lacy collar that looks very similar to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s.
On the website, Mattel wrote it hopes to ‘inspire girls to imagine everything they can become – like protecting the rights of others and ruling on legal cases.
‘She wears an authentic career outfit with a black robe and comes with a gavel and block to play out all kinds of stories,’ it continues.
‘Kids will love being the judge, and there are so many stories to “hear” and tell as they explore a career in the courtroom and create their own justice with Barbie Judge doll.’
And not only that, Mattel is also raising money via a GoFundMe page for female-led nonprofits.
The project is in aid of closing the Dream Gap – the idea that girls develop self-limiting beliefs at the age of five.
In March 2019, the brand raised $25,000 (£20,415) for three charities empowering women: She’s The First, She Should Run and Step Up.
Future funds raised will go toward levelling the playing field for girls by providing tools, resources, and support to organizations on the ground working to change the lives of girls around the world.
We love to see it.
Unfortunately there is no shipping to the UK for this particular Barbie doll – perhaps it’s one to look out for on your next trip to the US.
Source: Read Full Article