Barbie creates doll in honour of inspiring Oxford vaccine creator
IN THE past year she has been hailed as a national saviour, awarded a damehood in the Queen’s birthday honours, appeared in Vogue and even treated to a standing ovation at Wimbledon.
Now, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, the brains behind the Oxford-astrazeneca vaccine, has received an altogether more unusual accolade – a Barbie doll made in her image.
The vaccinologist has been named as one of six new “Barbie role models”. They are all based on outstanding science and healthcare workers who have inspired others with their efforts during the pandemic.
The Oxford scientist said she hopes the one-off commemorative doll, which has ginger hair and glasses will encourage girls to consider a career like hers.
“I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls into Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers and hope that children who see my Barbie will realise how vital careers in science are to help the world around us,” she said.
“My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist.”
Just 24 per cent of core Stem rolls are currently filled by women in the United Kingdom, according to analysis by Wise, a gender equality campaign group.
As part of the role models initiative, Barbie said it would make a donation to Wise’s My Skills My Life programme, which allows girls to explore personality types and matches them with relatable role models working in Stem.
The other women honoured by Barbie for their work in the pandemic are Amy O’sullivan, an emergency nurse in New York, Dr Kirby White, an Australian GP who co-invented an initiative to launder and re-use medical gowns and Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus, credited with leading the genomic sequencing of a Covid variant in Brazil.
Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, from the University of Toronto, and Dr Audery Cruz from Las Vegas, have also been honoured for their work fighting racial discrimination. The dolls will not be available to the general public.
“Barbie recognises that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” said Lisa Mcknight, global head of Barbie Dolls at Mattel.
“To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back.”