Sapna Cheryan has spent much of her career researching the stereotypes that contribute to male-dominated science and technology fields.
She鈥檚 traced those ideas to childhood, to the toys boys and girls play with and to the beliefs they form about who programs a computer and who feels at home in a lab.
So when Mattel in the spring asked , an associate professor of psychology at the 天美影视传媒, to advise on its most iconic toy 鈥� the Barbie doll 鈥� it felt, somewhat ironically, like an opportunity.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 a way to influence children, it鈥檚 through a toy,鈥� Cheryan said. 鈥淭oys are really important. The first way kids get experience with different fields is through toys, like a toy microscope. But the toy market is very gender-segregated. Physics toys and dinosaurs are still seen as boys鈥� toys.
鈥淭oys are communicating who鈥檚 interested, who鈥檚 good, and who belongs.鈥�
The Barbie Global Advisory Council is made up of 12 people from a range of occupations who serve a one-year term to, as the company puts it, 鈥渁ct as a collective sounding board for the brand.鈥� Mattel picked Cheryan because of her research on diversity, stereotypes and gender gaps in STEM, all of which will 鈥渉elp inform and refine Barbie brand initiatives鈥� around career-themed dolls and related items, according to a statement from the company.
Women are underrepresented in many STEM fields, especially computer science, engineering and physics. According to a 2017 led by Cheryan, women earn 37 percent of STEM degrees in the United States, and 18 percent of computer science degrees.
This year鈥檚 Barbie Council includes other experts in STEM-related fields, as well as culture and identity, such as , an associate professor of psychology at NYU; , host of the Xploration Outer Space TV show; and , director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University.
The Barbie line has expanded in recent years, with dolls of different body types, skin tones and hairstyles, and career and 鈥渞ole model鈥� dolls that represent various professions and famous women and girls (Olympic gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim is among the latest). Even Ken has had something of a makeover, with more than a dozen versions of the doll. And in June, the company introduced a new career doll: robotics engineer Barbie, which comes with its own online coding lessons.
But Barbie鈥檚 transition hasn鈥檛 been entirely smooth. Customers were quick to criticize an early version of computer engineer Barbie, which, in its companion storybook, turned to two boys for help in fixing a laptop. Another edition of scientist Barbie wore a not-lab-ready short skirt and high heels. The advisory council was formed in 2015 and is meant to steer the brand into the future, according to Mattel. Council members receive $10,000 for their service.
The company鈥檚 continued efforts to evolve the toy swayed Cheryan, who has in her office computer engineer Barbie, which was a gift from a friend, and a doll representing Katherine Johnson (a NASA mathematician made famous in the film 鈥淗idden Figures鈥�), which was a gift from Mattel. Much of Cheryan鈥檚 research, involving both children and adults, has examined how cultural beliefs about STEM shape an individual鈥檚 own sense of identity and belonging. One co-authored , for example, focused on exposing young children to robotics through toys. In that experiment, 6-year-old girls who programmed a simple animal robot were more likely than girls who played a card game to express interest in technology and confidence in their programming skills.
Another redesigned a hypothetical computer science classroom, and asked teens to indicate how likely they would be to enroll in each version of the class. One classroom featured action figures on the desks and Star Trek and video game posters on the walls, while the other room was decorated with plants and art. The study found that girls were less likely to enroll in the stereotypically 鈥渕ale鈥� classroom.
鈥淎 lot of messages are that girls should change to fit into these fields,鈥� Cheryan said. 鈥淢y work shifts the focus from changing girls to changing the field or the image of the field. Some girls (and boys, too) don鈥檛 relate to the geeky or 鈥榖ro鈥� image of the tech sector, and they shouldn鈥檛 have to change themselves to feel like they can be successful in those fields.鈥�
Whether a Barbie dressed as a robotics engineer can influence a girl鈥檚 future career choice remains to be seen, Cheryan added. With research that shows the impact of changing the environment of a classroom or workspace, she said, a toy can be part of that.
鈥淲e need to broaden the images of different fields by showing different examples: different role models, environments and portrayals in the media,鈥� Cheryan said. 鈥淐onsidering the reach Barbie has, why not try?鈥�
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For more information, contact Cheryan at scheryan@uw.edu.