Barbie has had a lot of gigs, everything from being an astronaut to a race car driver. Now she’s added a new title to her resume – Computer Engineer.
This latest entry on Barbie’s resume is the result of an online vote held by Mattel to determine what job Barbie should hold next. The new tech savvy doll doesn’t look much like any IT guy we’ve ever met though. She sports black spangled leggings and a lime green tunic patterned with binary code, worn under a matching vest with hot pink shoes, and, of course, because she’s a “geek”, hot pink glasses. Even her laptop and blue tooth headset are pink.
Despite her specs and “men’s wear” vest, IT Barbie would most certainly terrify the boys in the Computer Services Department. Web developer and former dotcom employee Rachel Andrews told the BBC that, in style terms, Barbie would have a hard time fitting in to the computing world. ”It’s very much a young man’s industry,” says Ms. Andrew, now director of Edgeofmyseat.com. ”Women find the need to become quite laddish. You try to become very geeky and not particularly feminine.”
Despite the doll’s fashion plate look, women in the IT business are still happy to see her. “We want girls to consider [IT] as a career, and not be turned off by the image.” says Karen Petrie, a computing lecturer at the University of Dundee. She even goes so far as to suggest that the doll will appeal to grown up women as well as teenage girls – becoming something of a mascot for female tech support staff.
