Barbies to honour women: 22 dolls for pioneering females as space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock given doll

A top female scientist has become the latest female figure to be honoured with a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in celebration of both International Women’s Day and British Science Week.

Doctor Maggie Aderin-Pocock, from London, who is best known for presenting BBC One’s The Sky At Night programme, has been turned in to a Barbie role model in recognition of her achievements in making space and science accessible to girls. The doll, which has been created to look just like her by toy company Mattel, wears a starry dress and has a telescope accessory. This is because Dr Aderin-Pocock worked with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Dr Aderin-Pocok told the PA news agency that she hoped the creation of the doll would help girls realise that they can achieve anything they want to: “Since falling in love with the idea of space travel as a young girl, I have spent my career trying to show girls how fascinating space science can be. I want to inspire the next generation of scientists, and especially girls, and let them know that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is for them. These subjects are just too important to be left to the guys because, through science, you can literally change the world. I hope my doll will remind girls that, when you reach for the stars, anything is possible.”

Dr Aderin-Pocock’s doll will not be on sale to the public, but is a one-off that has been given to her by Mattel, however, Mattel will expand its Barbie Career range with a marine biologist doll this spring, joining STEM figures including a doctor, a vet, a scientist, and an astronaut.

Dr Aderin-Pocock added: “As a black woman, I’ve found that I don’t always fit some people’s perception of a scientist. We do often have these stereotypical images of what people do, and I like to smash those stereotypes whenever I get the opportunity. As a child growing up I played with Barbies, and I still do now with my daughter. When I was little, Barbie didn’t look like me, so to have one created in my likeness is mind-boggling. It’s such an honour to receive this doll that is celebrating my achievements. My daughter and I danced around the living room when we heard.”

Dr Aderin-Pocock is one of seven influential females from around the world who have been immortalised as Barbie dolls as part of their Barbie role model collection in 2023. Here, we take a look at the other females who have also been created in toy form.

Which other women are in the Barbie role model collection?

The Barbie role model collection is added to each year, and includes special dolls created for a number of inspirational women from across the world who have excelled in their fields. Previous examples include Shonda Rhimes, founder of Shondaland and creator of hit Netflix shows like Bridgerton, Northampton-born make-up artist Pat McGrath and tennis player Naomi Osaka. Dr Aderin-Pocock is the only woman from the UK to be added to the collection this year, but she is joined by six other women from around the world. They are:

Susan Wojcicki

Wojcicki, from the United States, was a YouTube CEO for almost a decade before stepping down earlier this year. Wojcicki told Mattel: “Growing up, I didn’t imagine that I would have a career in tech. My sisters and I found jobs we love and discovered how creative and fulfilling careers in STEM can be for women. I spent nearly 25 years working at Google and nine years as the CEO of YouTube, and it was an incredible experience. I hope Barbie’s International Women’s Day celebration will remind girls around the world that they can do anything.”

Anne Wojcicki

Anne Wojcick, also from the US, is the co-founder and CEO of DNA and ancestry test kits 23andME. She told Mattel: “I’m honoured to celebrate International Women’s Day this year with Barbie alongside my family and these other powerful women in STEM leadership roles. I hope that sharing our stories encourages young girls to try something new, face something that may scare them, and look at challenges as exciting opportunities.”

Janet Wojcicki

Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco, Janet Wojcicki told Mattel she knows how important it is for girls to see positive role models in the toys they play with. She also had a doll made to her likeness for International Women’s Day. She added: “I have been impressed with the increasing global relevance of Barbies for girls from all communities and seen firsthand through my work the relevance of Barbie for sub-Saharan African and Latinx girls. I’m honoured to serve as a Barbie role model this year and help children worldwide see women in places that they might want to be in one day.”

Katya Echazarreta

Echazarreta is an electrical engineer and science show host. She is also the first Mexican-born woman to go to space. She took to her Instagram page to post a photo of her with her doll. Alongside the image, she said: “At seven-years-old when I used to pretend my Barbie was an Astronaut travelling through the galaxy I could never have imagined I would one day have my very own Barbie. It is such an honour to be a part of the Barbie Role Models campaign. During this campaign they wanted to honour impactful women around the world and I got the beautiful opportunity to represent Latin America. This one of a kind Barbie is here to represent all little brown girls who dream of the stars.”

Professor Dr Antje Boetius

German Dr Boetius is a marine researcher and microbiologist. She was the first person to describe anaerobic oxidation of methane, and believes the Earth’s earliest life forms may have subsisted on methane in the absence of molecular oxygen. She was also awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, an accolade given to exceptional scientists, in March 2009 for her study of sea bed microorganisms that affect the global climate.

Yinuo Li

Li, from China, is the co-Founder of ETU Education, a startup school project based in Beijing where students learn Chinese, maths and English.

Are there any more Barbies modelled on important women?

This is not the first time that Barbie creator Mattel has created Barbies with a likeness to important female figures. They have a range of 13 dolls which were created as part of their inspiring women series to acknowledge “incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules, and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before”, according to the brand.

Unlike the recently created role model collection, the dolls from the inspiring women series are available to buy on the Mattel website, with prices starting at £31. They are:

• Madam CJ Walker, the nation’s first documented self-made female millionaire.
• Dr Jane Goodall, a conservationist, animal behaviour expert, activist and also founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace.
• Ida B. Wells, a pioneering journalist and outspoken activist for civil rights and women’s suffrage.
• Billie Jean King, a celebrated tennis player, champion of women’s equality in sports and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Bessie Coleman, the first Black and Native American female aviator.
• Maya Angelou, a writer, author, activist and teacher who has received numerous awards and accolades including over 50 honorary doctorates, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a National Book Award nomination for her 1970 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
• Rosa Parks, a defiant black activist who refused an order to give up her seat on the bus for a white passenger and helped to get segregation laws overturned by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
• Florence Nightingale, a nurse who improved standards of patient care during 1850 and beyond during her work, which eventually led to the creation of the Nightingale Training School which continued to further nursing education and change the negative attitudes towards women entering the field. 
• Ella Fitzgerald, the most recorded female in history who used her voice to support people in need. Her foundation, The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, provides aid to children and communities through their shared love of music and reading.
• Sally Ride, the first American woman, and the youngest American, to fly in space. 
• Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, UN Spokesperson and human rights activist.
• Susan B. Anthony, a protestor who led the charge for women’s voting rights and helped to pave the way for passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which prevents a woman from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex.
• Helen Keller, the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.