When Computer Engineer Barbie hit toy shelves in November, she was outfitted with the latest in high-tech high fashion: a form-fitting T-shirt emblazoned with binary code for “Barbie,” pink glasses, pink flats, a laptop—and a Bluetooth headset nestled in her flowing blond tresses. Mattel is promoting her as a “digital diva.”
Erin Fitzgerald, MSE ’04, PhD ’09, isn’t concerned whether or not Barbie is dressed to impress for her newest (and 125th) career. Fitzgerald hopes the doll inspires future female engineers. Tapped by Mattel through the National Academy of Engineering to consult on Barbie’s first-ever foray into computer engineering, Fitzgerald offered input and reviewed sketches throughout the development stage. (One early idea from Mattel she strongly advised against: outfitting Computer Engineer Barbie in a white lab coat. That’s garb much better suited to scientists working in wet labs, noted Fitzgerald, who says T-shirt and jeans are the standard uniform for her and her colleagues.)
“Some people thought it was silly, but this was an opportunity to share what we do,” says Fitzgerald, a research fellow at the Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. “Barbie has such broad visibility. This gives girls a different view of what engineering can be.” Considering the power of the Pink, it’s a good bet: 90 percent of girls between 3 and 10 own at least one Barbie doll. In an online Mattel-sponsored contest, which drew 600,000 voters, Computer Engineer Barbie beat out architect, anchorwoman, environmentalist, and surgeon.
Geek didn’t quite meet chic, though. “When I first saw the sketches, I thought the leggings were jeans, but they turned out to be black sparkly leggings,” chuckles Fitzgerald, who does outreach with school-age girls to encourage technical careers and was the founder of Hopkins’ Women of Whiting (WoW), a graduate student group.
“I can’t imagine programming all day in leggings, but it’s Barbie and she is very girly.” This fits just fine with Fitzgerald. “It would have been more offensive if [Mattel] changed the Barbie image to a more stereotypical look for this. The idea is that anyone can be an engineer.”