Doll-making giant Mattel, Inc. who designs Barbie dolls, have partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch their Barbie Dream Gap Project, to create dolls resembling a female astronaut. This is a step towards motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
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As part of the project, it modelled a Barbie doll on astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA\u2019s only active female astronaut. \u201cBarbie has always shown girls that they can be anything, giving them the opportunity to interpret different roles through play and embark on a countless number of careers encouraging imagination and self-expression,\u201d said Isabel Ferrer, Barbie\u2019s European director of marketing.
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The space sector needs diversity and inclusion of women talent to \u2018imagine the future\u2019 of space. Cristoforetti is thrilled with this partnership and said that she hopes this will make young boys and girls think beyond limits.
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A research conducted by Mattel showed that out of 2000 participant parents, about 80% lacked the basic knowledge of STEM subjects. A significant percentage of them were also unaware of any female space scientists. \u201cWhile boys and girls generally achieve the same scores in science and math, few girls dream of becoming scientists, engineers, or space professionals,\u201d commented Ersilia Vaudo Scarpetta, chief diversity officer at ESA. \u201cSocial and cultural factors play an important role as the attitude of the family environment towards science and scientific professions.\u201d
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This is not the first time Mattel has decided to make an astronaut Barbie. In 1965, it released an \u2018Astronaut Barbie\u2019 wearing a silver spacesuit who, as per the company, \u201cshowed little girls they could reach for the stars\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n