If you’re feeling nostalgic for your Barbie dolls from childhood, this news is sure to make you happy. By dedicating each one with her own Barbie, Mattel has highlighted six trailblazing ladies, or “sheroes,” in a bid to encourage girls everywhere. We selected these women, including Selma director Ava DuVernay and Lucky magazine Editor-in-Chief Eva Chen, because they represent what is possible for all women.
Our first response to this news was that we need to set new career goals. The second reason is that it’s a fine number to start with. Why stop there? Here are five more women who deserve their own Barbie to honor their work in changing the world.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ginsburg has dedicated her time as a Supreme Court Justice to fight for women’s rights, from reproductive justice to equal pay. She may be 82, but she has plenty of battle in her to continue pushing important social issues forward.“Ginsburg stated in a February 2015 interview with MSNBC that she would “step down when [she] can no longer do the job full steam.” Until then, she plans to keep doing her best. When she dissented last year on the Hobby Lobby case, people began to see her as a powerful figure not to be underestimated. The Notorious R.B.G. collectible has been a go-to gift for moms and their daughters, but now it’d be even better with a Ken doll who’s wearing the shirt of the woman who helped bring feminism to pop music.
Diane von Furstenberg
Von Furstenberg is a well-known fashion designer who is essentially a career coach who creates dresses that you’d wear to your ideal job interview. Her reality show House of DVF, which aired in 2014 and is returning for a second season, displayed this further than ever before. Diane von Furstenberg led a group of young fashion hopefuls through stylish trials and tribulations, whittling the candidates down until she crowned one as her new Brand Ambassador. Throughout the televised adventure, she bestowed the young ladies with numerous bits of career advice, many of which are recounted in her book The Woman I Wanted to Be. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was young, but I knew what kind of woman I wanted to be.” That’s a great example of how you can apply these principles to your career.
Gillian Flynn
While her novels may have given you a few night’s sweats, Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn’s literary talent has inspired women all around the world. The female protagonists in her novels are as twisted as they may be, yet they demonstrate that women have rich and unique interior lives that should be shared. Despite her great successes, Flynn has encountered a few bumps in the road.”I felt embarrassed and worthless when I was laid off from my job as a TV critic for Entertainment Weekly, where I’d worked for 10 years. I’ve dealt with self-doubt in different ways while working on new projects,” Flynn says in an interview with SELF. “Sometimes I take a few days off. Sometimes I have a glass of bourbon!” Cheers to that.
Mo’ne Davis
Not only can teenage baseball player Mo’ne Davis pitch a Baseball at an impressive 70 miles per hour, but she is also incredibly humble. As the first female pitcher to ever throw a shutout in the Little League World Series, she’s certainly proved her worth. ESPN recently asked her what interview question she was most tired of hearing, to which she responded: “What does it feel like to be a role model?” She followed up by expressing her frustration with the inquiry. “When you see someone else looking up to you, it’s tough to imagine them doing so.” We respectfully disagree! Consider how empowering it would be for young girls to have a baseball player in their collection as a toy.
Lilly Ledbetter
The real campaign for pay equity started in the 1990s when Lilly Ledbetter lodged a complaint against Goodyear. She was a manager at the company for nineteen years when she found out that despite having the same job title, her male coworkers were making $1,000 more per month than she was. When she sued Goodyear for employment discrimination, the Supreme Court sided with the company by a 5-4 margin, reasoning that Ledbetter’s lawsuit was filed too late. Although this was discouraging, it wasn’t enough to make her give up. She continued to advocate for change, and in 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, which guarantees that women have 180 days after their employer pays them discriminatory wages to file a claim. Ledbetter’s refusal to give up is ensuring that we make progress.
