Barbie and National Geographic launch STEM-themed dolls to close gender gap in science

Mattel and National Geographic have partnered to create a line of STEM-themed Barbie dolls, including an environmentalist, astrophysicist, marine biologist, nature photographer, and entomologist, set for fall 2019. The initiative follows the 2018 Barbie inspired by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, part of Mattel's 'Shero' program celebrating women who broke barriers. The gender gap in STEM fields remains stark: UNESCO reports only 28.8% of researchers are women, and Nobel Prizes have gone to women 50 times versus 844 for men. In Italy, women represent over 60% of graduates in natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics, but careers stall. UNESCO established the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, 2015, and runs the SAGA project. The L'Oréal Italy for Women and Science fellowship has awarded 82 scholarships. Controversial statements by physicist Alessandro Strumia at CERN claimed biological differences explain gender disparities, but a University of New South Wales study of 1.6 million students found girls' grades higher on average, with minimal gender differences in science. A 1974 Lego leaflet found in a dollhouse set encouraged creativity regardless of gender, reading: 'The urge to create is equally strong in all children. Boys and girls.'