Barbie, you’re hired

"Entering the entrepreneurial world, this independent professional is ready for the next big pitch. Her "smartphone," tablet and briefcase are always by her side."Sounds like one of the contestants to take part in the next series of The Apprentice? Actually no, it's the latest Barbie doll - Entrepreneur Barbie.

She is introduced on the Mattel website surrounded by a halo of glamorous American female entrepreneurs: This year (it says) Barbie is once again breaking through plastic ceilings and inspiring girls to follow their dreams. Naturally, she wears pink. And naturally, as a modern entrepreneur Barbie is on twitter - on 18th June @Barbie and her #CIOs (Chief Inspiration Officers) hosted the Pink Power Lunch on Twitter. Coinciding with the launch of the doll at the New York Toys Fair on June 18, many women entrepreneurs took part in a Twitter chat using the hashtag #BarbieChat. The campaign also includes a LinkedIn page for Barbie and a billboard in Times Square using the hashtag #unapologetic. Although it must be said that a look through the tweets implies that an awful lot of them were posted by supporters involved in the promotion, there is criticism as well - “Whatever #entrepreneurbarbie. If you were real, your head’d still be too heavy for your body #BarbieChat”.

On the other hand, perhaps Barbie does have a role in exposing girls to different career options. Since Barbie was launched in 1959, she has had many avatars, including an astronaut, a CEO and even a Presidential candidate, although there was an unfortunate interlude in 1992, when she was programmed to say, “Math class is tough.”

Reshma Saujani who is one of the entrepreneurs involved in the promotion, and who founded the non-profit Girls Who Code, fended off the criticism. “Unfortunately we live in a culture where girls are bombarded with images of male coders and engineers that just don’t look like them. When you ask a girl what a computer scientist is, she usually pictures a geeky guy typing away. And then we wonder why girls don’t pursue careers in tech! We have to change popular culture and start showing more women – more cool, dynamic, creative women – in these roles,” she told ‘Wired’. As a mother of sons, I don't think I can say whether a doll in a pink dress is likely to make the difference for young girls in 2014 - but if she does, then all power to her elbow, however oddly proportioned it may be.

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