Women & Mozilla

Barbie has had 124 careers since 1959: she was a princess, a rock star, an Olympic champion, an air hostess and an astronaut. Toy company Mattel has launched a contest to determine their next Barbie doll’s occupation and she has finally received her 125th job: she will be a computer engineer.

According to the director of Barbie marketing for Mattel, a lot of female engineers and other women in the tech industry voted for this Computer Engineer career for Barbie.

Mattel explains that “To create an authentic look, Barbie® designers worked closely with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to develop the wardrobe and accessories for Computer Engineer Barbie®. Wearing a binary code patterned tee and equipped with all the latest gadgets including a smart phone, Bluetooth headset, and laptop travel bag, Computer Engineer Barbie® is geek chic.”

Barbie’s new career is not just an answer to the demand of the popular vote, it’s also a way to encourage young girls to aspire to engineering or technology careers.

Sources:

http://www.zdnet.fr/blogs/l-esprit-libre/la-poupee-barbie-sera-informaticienne-et-utilise-linux-39713313.htm

http://www.chipchick.com/2010/02/computer-engineer-barbie.html