This morning Mattel unveiled Barbie’s 125th and 126th career which was decided based on votes that poured in from her fans all over the world. News Anchor Barbie won the Girls’ vote and became Barbie’s 125th career in Barbie’s I Can Be doll series, but Barbie also unleashed a surprise on us – Barbie’s 126th career. According to Lauren Dougherty, director of Barbie marketing for Mattel, voting for the Computer Engineer Barbie became viral amongst female engineers and other women in the tech industry, so much so, that many, many votes also poured in for a Computer Engineer career for Barbie. Because this popular vote went to Computer Engineer Barbie, Mattel couldn’t resist but to reward Barbie with a 126th career choice as well.
Barbie designers worked closely with the society of women engineers and the national academy of engineering to ensure that computer engineer Barbie met the standards of her title. Computer engineer Barbie, which will be released in winter 2010, sports a geek chic binary code patterned tee (We’d so wear that!) and she comes equipped with everything a modern day geek girl would use. That includes a smartphone, Bluetooth headset, laptop travel bag, and last but not least – a pink laptop. No word on whether it’s a Mac or PC though. Both News Anchor Barbie and Computer Engineer Barbie are available for pre-order at MattelShop.
But Computer Engineer Barbie doesn’t just serve the purpose of answering the demand of the popular vote, it’s also designed to encourage young girls to aspire to have a career in the field of engineering one day.
“All the girls who imagine their futures through Barbie will learn that engineers — like girls — are free to explore infinite possibilities, limited only by their imagination,” says Nora Lin, President, Society of Women Engineers. “As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can turn their ideas into realities that have a direct and positive impact on people’s everyday lives in this exciting and rewarding career.”
For more details about Computer Engineer, and News Anchor Barbie as well as more photos, check out Chip Chicklets.
Barbie becomes a Computer Engineer | Geek Feminism Blog
[...] a look at Computer Engineer Barbie’s fact sheet on their press release site, or check out coverage [...]
Bob
Male computer engineer who voted, here. The gender disparity in the field is quite embarrassing, and even little things like this are worth doing to correct it.
[BLOCKED BY STBV] === popurls.com === popular today
=== popurls.com === popular today…
yeah! this story has entered the popular today section on popurls.com…
Argon
Shouldn’t she be wearing a sari?
Hugo
I need to know if what tools she uses. I bet she programs in Ruby.
Doug
“Mac or PC”? Obviously, it’s running Ubuntu (though it’s too big to be a netbook).
Jamey
It’s about time all the long-legged, hard-bodied, fashion-forward, nordic computer engineers finally got a doll like them!
Kudos to the two of you!
Jusint White
Wow, thats like totally incredible dude.
RT
http://www.isp-logging.net.tc
Lolwzz
Kinda lame. I thought geek girls didnt care about the superficiality of Barbie.
djinnius
What a missed opportunity!
They could have waited just a little longer and made Computer Engineer Barbie’s 128th career…
Ted
Too bad the author of this article doesn’t realize that the reason the Engineer was voted was because of websites such as Reddit that sent over thousands of people (mostly guys) to vote for the engineer. Just thought you would like to know.
Refurbished Computers: Refurbished computers, Refurbished Laptops, and Refurbished computer accessories » Blog Archive » Mattel Unveils Barbie’s Refurbishedest Career: Computer Engineer
[...] friends at Chip Chick were on hand at Mattel’s unveiling of Barbie’s newest career today as the giant toy maker kicked off ToyFair festivities. The company held an online poll to [...]
Friday Fluff « Living ~400lbs
[...] Computer. Engineer. Barbie. [...]
Andrea
Fantastic!
Bob Brown
>The gender disparity in the field is quite embarrassing, and even little things like this are worth doing to correct it.
As another male engineer… (sorry for being redundant)
Yes, PLEASE ‘correct’ this ‘embarrassing disparity’. Wow, Barbies in the lab. Finally!
YEAH BABY.
joanne
we posted it on about 6 or 7 LinkedIN Women in technology sites, and tweeted it like crazy, and itjust took off from there!
We are hopeful that this in some way shape or form creates awareness (early) about the incredible technology field amongst young women…where women are still out-numbered about 25-1 (on a good day).
Thanks for giving us this opportunity, it was fantastic!
Now where can we buy them?
Joanne
Evening Crunch Crumbs: Josh Duhamel Stripper Is Not Pregnant; Tiger Saves Sinking Marriage With Boat; Bill O’Reilly Writing Book About Abe Lincoln
[...] next for Barbie? She’s embarking on two new careers; one as a computer engineer and another as a news anchor. Girl [...]
Karen
i really hope more girls are inspired to become computer engineers! Classes with a bunch of guys is great fun but nothing beats partnering up with another girl in class (usually the only other girl) to make programs while decide what new gadgets or clothes we want to buy!
I am going to buy the Barbie and frame it on my wall! 
lol
Jay
There will always be a disparity in the field, any girl that looks like barbie would’nt have to work, all they have to do is marry rich! I’m an EE and I’ll tell you the field is 99 percent men and the 1 percent don’t even come close to looking like barbie!
getreal
Holy kernel panic, Batman! As if it ain’t hard enough being a woman in IT.
XY_EE
Is it just the US that has this disparity in genders in the engineering field ? Strange since most universities are trending towards more than 50% female. I have yet to work with a female engineer in my 20+ years in the field. I think Europe is better in that respect.
Evening Crunch Crumbs: Josh Duhamel’s Stripper Is Not Pregnant; Tiger Saves Sinking Marriage With Boat; Bill O’Reilly Is Writing A Book About Abe Lincoln | Susanquandt.com
[...] next for Barbie? She’s embarking on two new careers; one as a computer engineer and another as a news anchor. Girl [...]
Penn Gwynne
Big boobs and big brains are never a well-received combination, no matter what you guys say you want. I speak from experience. And no, I don’t weight 300 pounds.
The truth is most of you couldn’t even begin to handle working with a woman who looked even a bit like CE Barbie here, especially if she DID have the competence to do the job well.
(Personally, my bet is that she couldn’t compile a kernel if I wrote her script to do it – she’s still Barbie after all, and let’s be honest…Barbie has never truly been an icon for women engaging in intellectual pursuits.)
Those of you men who note and disparage the gender disparity in IT, please be part of the solution by helping your knuckle-dragging, penis-waggling co-workers (or even yourself, if you are astute and honest enough to admit you fall into this category) to evolve into treating their competent female colleagues with more respect. Especially if they happen to also be good-looking and you want to see more of them join the ranks.
Tiffarific
The new generation of Computer Engineering geek-chicks are not the old man with a combover. We are chic and smart! In Idaho we’re doing talks at high schools to try and show how engineering can be cool but by then it is often too late. This is a great way to fight the stereotype early!
Marshall Cypress
I have never… Ever seen a computer engineer that looks anything like Barbie.
Barbie hired as a Computer Engineer | VizWorld.com
[...] are available for preorder on their site, although I cannot find them.Image courtesy of Helena Stone of ChipChick.via News – Media Materials | BarbieMedia.com – The Best Doll Ever |. About [...]
Jay
Hey Penn Gwynne I married a girl who looks like Barbie so I think I can handle it and secondly she has the brains of barbie as well
JoeOvercoat
CE-Barbie rocks.
Thank you to all who made her possible.
P.S. To the doubters…no, not exactly like Barbie, but…the hottie computer engineers most definitely exist: I’ve seen ‘em. In regard to that all I can add is…go diversity drive go!
Most Tweeted Articles by Art Experts
[...] about design, paper, printing and all things creative for the print … 2 Tweets Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th & 126th Careers This morning Mattel unveiled Barbie's 125th and 126th career which was decided based on votes [...]
Nerdism » Blog Archive » Barbie: Now inspiring girls to be engineers?
[...] Barbie’s newest career path: Computer Engineer. [...]
Bob Hazard
A lot of boys from Reddit voted for you too
Computer Engineer Barbie | The Naughty Bits
[...] From Chip Chick: Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! [...]
DYSPEPSIA GENERATION » Blog Archive » Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie
[...] Read it. [...]
Evening Crunch Crumbs: Josh Duhamel’s Stripper Is Not Pregnant; Tiger Saves Sinking Marriage With Boat; Bill O’Reilly Is Writing A Book About Abe… | Designerscut
[...] next for Barbie? She’s embarking on two new careers; one as a computer engineer and another as a news anchor. Girl Power! -Katharine McPhee on Good [...]
Evening Crunch Crumbs: Josh Duhamel’s Stripper Is Not Pregnant; Tiger Saves Sinking Marriage With Boat; Bill O’Reilly Is Writing A Book About Abe Lincoln
[...] next for Barbie? She’s embarking on two new careers; one as a computer engineer and another as a news anchor. Girl [...]
Interesting Reading #417 – Lasers kill mosquitoes and missiles, Artificial sweetners cause weight gain, Humans lose to computers at Jeopardy, 57 million in U.S. caught the flu and much more… – The Blogs at HowStuffWorks
[...] Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th & 126th Careers – “This morning Mattel unveiled Barbie’s 125th and 126th career which was decided based on votes that poured in from her fans all over the world. News Anchor Barbie won the Girls’ vote and became Barbie’s 125th career in Barbie’s I Can Be doll series, but Barbie also unleashed a surprise on us – Barbie’s 126th career. According to Lauren Dougherty, director of Barbie marketing for Mattel, voting for the Computer Engineer Barbie became viral amongst female engineers and other women in the tech industry, so much so, that many, many votes also poured in for a Computer Engineer career for Barbie. Because this popular vote went to Computer Engineer Barbie, Mattel couldn’t resist but to reward Barbie with a 126th career choice as well…” [...]
Barbie's New Career...Computer Engineer - Scuba Forum - Scuba Diving Forums and Discussion Board
[...] I met very few girls/women computer geeks (other than Morgan Webb) that looked like Barbie. Barbie…Computer Engineer Besides, why are they encouraging this? I mean…math is hard. Whatever happened to "Get Your [...]
rolandog
Man, I’m gonna see if they have a Chemical Engineer Barbie, my girlfriend’d love it.
“Barbie’s New Career: Computer Engineer!” and related posts « Twitter
[...] Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th & 126th Careers - Chip Chick [...]
Melissa
I want a “Big Sister” Barbie and a “Big Daddy” Ken with a “Little Sister” Kelly, complete with bloody drills, dirty smocks, glow-in-the-dark eyes and light-up headgear. Bonus toy syringe and oozey, gooey play Adam you can squeeze out of a little bug-shaped tube. Really I like Computer Engineer Barbie… hardcore brains and cute to boot! I’m getting one for my daughter and my niece.
Toni
Yes…………..but……is she Cisco Certified?
lol
Karen Lee
Oh, I want one for my desk. And my niece. And I hope they do Computer Engineer Barbie’s friends. I have some African American engineer friends who would like her too. It’s about time Barbie and the gang got blue tooth, laptops and cell phones. And I’d like her binary tee, but I’d rather it be ascii for codegoddess instead of Barbie.
Just Dolls » Blog Archive » Barbie Computer Engineer: I really need her!!!
[...] you to Impossible Princess for the heads-up about them and here some history about the doll (by the way I think I could get addicted to this blog [...]
Drunken Economist
Sorry, but computer engineers are NOT white. So ‘Computer Engineer Barbie’ is off-spec. This is reality:
http://mindtaker.blogspot.com/2010/02/dear-mattel-re-computer-engineer-barbie.html
Thanks me later.
-Drunken Economist
http://mindtaker.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/drunk_economist
Barbie, die Computertechnikerin : gobbits
[...] Weiter bei Chip Chick [...]
Can Computer Programmer Barbie Convince Girls that Tech Jobs are Cool? | ISTE Connects - Educational Technology
[...] conducted online by Mattel, the “girl’s vote” was actually won by New Anchor Barbie. Online buzz says “computer programming Barbie” came into the world thanks to a viral campaign conducted by [...]
Barbara (Seriously)
My name is Barbara and I’m a Systems Integration Engineer. I wouldn’t be caught dead dressed like this, anywhere. I’m surrounded by men at work. It would be an unprofessional distraction to dress like this at work, much less wear shoes that can’t go into an ESD environment. I don’t know *any* geek women who would present themselves like this. It’s really insulting.
Don’t call me Barbie.
Barbie, yes Barbie, is breaking stereotypes « SmartiePops
[...] on the blogs that are reporting on the new doll are pretty positive – for example here and here – since the computer engineering field is still one of the most male dominated out there. [...]
AnnRissa
“I’m an EE and I’ll tell you the field is 99 percent men and the 1 percent don’t even come close to looking like barbie!”
I’m a software engineer and I’ll tell you the “99 percent” of engineering men don’t come close to looking like Ken!
I’m not sure I like this whole superficial Barbie meets computer engineer idea. Barbie already creates unrealistic expectations of what a girl should be.
I wonder what qualifications Barbie had to get a computer engineer job. Usually she has the right clothes for the job, but in the computer engineer case she seems to be dressed for her first day of high school. Given her numerous careers, I doubt she’s had time to obtain the appropriate education and training for each. I guess she picked up a little C and Assembly during her previous careers as fashion model, cheerleader, and princess.
Angela Alcorn
“will learn that engineers — like girls — are free to explore infinite possibilities”
Um, spokesperson pretty much just said that engineers and girls are not synonymous. That’s a pretty dumb thing for the PR person to say!
Anyway, the idea of Engineer Barbie is fantastic – yay!
ideonexus.com » Blog Archive » Science Tidbits for Moonday, 20100215
[...] the New York Toy fair, Mattel has announced Computer Engineer Barbie, the doll’s 126th career chosen by popular vote. The official announcement (PDF) shows her [...]
Doris
I agree with Barbara. I’m an ordinary Programmer/Analyst, not a Computer Engineer, but I would NEVER dress like that and expect to be taken seriously at work. I’d love the ASCII shirt with MY name, for home wear. Maybe she’d look more serious in her cubicle at work? I’m thinking coffee mug chocolate bar and Princess Leia with a blaster figurine on her desk with an overhead full of programming manuals. She definitely needs some cool peripherals.
I thought about what i thought a female computer professional should look like, and likewise all those besides myself that i worked with were temps and wearing sari’s. Argon got it right. Maybe I could get some for working purposes. I used to wear jeans and polo shirts, but I’m trying to be a woman again. but NEVER pink. (red yes, pink no)
Barbie, Godzilla & Stravinski’s Lunch « A Programming Language (APL/J/K – The Movie)
[...] 126th career is ‘Computer Engineer’. Most tech news syndicates have noticed, I liked chipchick’s take on the [...]
Paul Villacorta
lol! Gonna have this one as a gift. Nice!
Schooled by Engineering Barbie | Maile Ohye: Love & Technology
[...] at SES London and I still have no clue what to wear. My brother-in-law recently emailed me that Computer Engineer Barbie will soon be released. “Perfect,” I thought, “she will be my new fashion mentor.” Photo from [...]
» Post Topic » Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie!
[...] Read the entire article here [...]
Chelsea
I think this is absolutely awesome. At first I thought it was a joke.. but now that I know its for real I’m blown away and super excited. It’s pretty weird working alongside mostly men.. and I think this will have a huge effect on the way this career is perceived by men and women… Sure its a Barbie and the stigmas don’t exactly match up… but maybe that’s what’s charming about it. And hey – if Barbie can be a CE, any girl definitely can! Way to break the mold and make this happen everybody and Mattel.
P.S. I’m with the comments above about 128th career being better suited to the circumstances and those heels not being ESD-rated. But I guess Barbie probably doesn’t need to be grounded.
Chelsea
p.s. I work at Intel.. we wear jeans.
But girls here would probably only something this cute on Fridays… with a parka on over top because offices and labs are freezing. And I did finally give up on the heels… lasted up until two months ago. 
00010 Thumbs Up for Barbie! « SeePR
[...] the Computer Engineer Barbie, please see these posts from Gizmodo, New York Times’ Bits blog, Chip Chick. For true PR fiends, Gizmodo features the Mattel news release [...]
Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th … | Suporte de Informática
[...] here to see the original: Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th … [...]
KTB
To the person that said Barbie is not an icon for intellectual pursuits- clearly you never owned Barbies as a kid otherwise you would know she, as a character, is incredibly smart. I know she’s been a vet, doctor, astronaut, teacher, etc. I grew up an ugly duckling without many friends but still loved my Barbie dolls! Now I’m a model and huge nerd girl(though not tall, blond, or super skinny) with no problem holding my own against my male friends in our various nerd pursuits. I never thought I had to look perfect like Barbie to be successful in life. And while she may not be properly dressed for office work, maybe she works from home most days and this is her casual wear
Karen
thank you KTB it’s girls like us who were late bloomers and are now able to be geeky while being beautiful
***Remember girls we shouldn’t be bickering at each other…Just because one girl is “girlie” and another isn’t doesn’t make us any of us less of a geek***
Like, KTB I am a very pretty (Hispanic) nerd just like my daddie!
I don’t see why it’s necessary to start bashing on pretty and intelligent girls.
I don’t believe being beautiful should be unprofessional or even a distraction. There are gorgeous women wearing amazing clothes working in other fields with men. Such as lawyers, ceo’s, architects, etc..
Why should all the girls in the fashion industry get to have all the fun?
Dr. Lizama
I disagree completely with Karen.
Dr. Lizama
Pretty and intelligent don’t go well together because then they play hard to get.
Dr. Lizama
Stop sending me hate mail Karen.
Vickie
At least Barbies better than those stupid Bratz things that don’t even pretend to resemble role models. http://bit.ly/a6mUet At least this is a toy I can proudly buy my daughter.
Ann
I sure hope they come out with more than one ethnic group doll. Be nice if they have one for each ethnic group to encourage ALL girls…. great idea. thanks
Remarketables 2.18 | Blog | design mind
[...] Please Meet Computer Engineer Barbie! [...]
GoodieTracker » Mattel Turns Barbie Into a Gadget Girl
[...] the times! At this year’s Toy Fair in NYC, Mattel showed off Barbie in her 126th career — a Computer Engineer, naturally, (talk about being a Jill of all trades!) — which was based on votes from Barbie [...]
Links of Great Interest 2/19/10 | The Hathor Legacy
[...] In other news: Barbie programs computers, designs pink laptop. [...]
computer software blog
I think that barbie is really nice, but I have never seen computer engineer like that
Scumbag Style » New Sport 2: Mousetrap With Girls’ Futures
[...] women can do to make their daily lives as horrifically mundane as the 9-5 gentleman. I give you: Computer Engineer Barbie. Computer engineer Barbie, which will be released in winter 2010, sports a geek chic binary code [...]
Computer Engineer Barbie « Design & Everyday Experience
[...] February 25, 2010 http://www.chipchick.com/2010/02/computer-engineer-barbie.html [...]
mmmyeah
I actually did know one software engineer that looked quite a lot like Barbie. Most of her more typical geeky male colleagues were intimidated by her. More commonly the women I’ve encountered in the field are closer to average looking, and are often Asian or Indian.
Why doesn’t Mattel consider a doll that fits the demographics better for this one? Sure, you can be an engineer if you look like Barbie, but why not just be a supermodel? It’s gotta be much more fun.
Try making dolls that look like the real women in the fields you’re promoting. Otherwise it’s just a wrapper around the same old sexist unattainable ideals. Boo!
Fries With That?
From Jay:
“There will always be a disparity in the field, any girl that looks like barbie would’nt have to work, all they have to do is marry rich! I’m an EE and I’ll tell you the field is 99 percent men and the 1 percent don’t even come close to looking like barbie!”
“Hey Penn Gwynne I married a girl who looks like Barbie so I think I can handle it and secondly she has the brains of barbie as well”
Yo there, EE! I’m thinkin’ your logic’s kinda broken! “Any girl that looks like Barbie wouldn’t have to work, all they have to do is marry rich!” & “I married a girl who looks like Barbie.” So therefore you’re rich? Can’t be from engineering cuz you don’t reason so good.
Barbie hat nen neuen Job! | JOBlog - der Job & Karriere Blog
[...] (Gefunden im Blog des CHIPChicks) [...]
Johan
Currently Browsing: http://is.gd/9JSeW
Amie Mizell
http://tinyurl.com/yfnf4he @StrikerObi I think Computer Engineering Barbie bears a striking resemblance to @supinternets
Erin Sinclair
I'm sooo going get a Computer Engineer Barbie (for my lil niece, of course. Yeaa!): http://bit.ly/a2OJc2
Jim Vellenga
Well, well, well… I missed that Computer Engineer Barbie is one of Barbie's two new careers for 2010: http://bit.ly/aH7f4q
The computer engineer Barbie makes the web buzz | Sebbie on the Webbie
[...] Introducing Computer Engineer Barbie! Barbie Unveils Her 125th … [...]
Interesting Things of the Week #71 « Lore Librarian
[...] Computer Engineer Barbie [...]
rogerpence
@colleenpence Where are the awesome Women Who Tech? Does coder Barbie count? http://j.mp/a2OJc2
Barbie A-Go-Go « cloudofchaos.com
[...] vote. Mattel couldn’t resist but to reward Barbie with a 126th career choice as well. (Thanks to Chip Chick for the intel.) Et [...]
Alex Wakeman
http://www.chipchick.com/2010/02/computer-engineer-barbie.html yes really
twit_free
Barbie finds the big pink glasses get in the way of writing code http://www.chipchick.com/2010/02/computer-engineer-barbie.html
Cém Ünsal
Bilgisayar mühendisi Barbie http://bit.ly/a2OJc2 alsak mı!
Vanessa
Awesome
! Finally a Barbie doll I actually would have liked as a kid XD!
HEY! GirlGeekDinners
I have to say .. I do like Computer Engineer Barbie… http://bit.ly/9ueEbG : is that bad?????
Delia MacNamara
RT @HEYGGD: I have to say .. I do like Computer Engineer Barbie… http://bit.ly/9ueEbG : is that bad?????
Looking The Part vs Learning The Skills « Uplift Magazine
[...] must have balked a tad at this unexpected outcome (which would explain why they moved this job title to the less fan-fare-able position of job number 126, and called it the winner of the ‘Popular Vote’, rather than touting as the role that [...]
Maria Sjöberg
@Nerdphilia Yeah she does. Barbie is a computer engineer: http://is.gd/cBmKc
lorena
barbie este personajul meu preferat am aproape toata colectia sunt cel mai mare fana ata
lorena
barbie este personajul meu preferat am aproape toata colectia sunt cel mai mare fana
Girling up my Droid | Not a Dirty Word
[...] terrible math skills.) This shift was perhaps best demonstrated by Barbie’s 126th career as Computer Engineer Barbie. But take note: Computer Engineer Barbie’s laptop is pink and her Bluetooth headset is baby [...]
Barbie Video Girl Doll Review
[...] the Bionic technologically advanced Barbie who was meant to hang out with the soon to be released Computer Engineer Barbie. She would also make a great date for your Tony Stark action figure as they both have unique [...]