In honor of International Women’s Day yesterday, we are giving a spotlight to two famous women who are household names and actively making a difference for women across the globe- Barbie and Betty Crocker. Betty Crocker donated $100,000 to the Barbie Dream Gap Project and released this limited-edition “Baking Better Futures” strawberry cake box in trademark Barbie Pink to celebrate their partnership. Betty Crocker also launched the BettyLab, an online hub for recipes and other resources to encourage STEM-thinking and creativity in girls. “We believe the kitchen is more than a room and baking is just the beginning,” said Stephanie Lensing, Brand Experience Manager, Betty Crocker. “We created BettyLab so that every ‘Betty’ can use their kitchen and the resources they have to unlock new possibilities and potential.”
By age 5, research shows that many girls have already bought into gender stereotypes and stop believing that they are as smart or capable as boys. This drop of confidence is called the Dream Gap. In 2018, Barbie launched the Barbie Dream Gap Project as a global initiative to give girls the resources and support they need to continue believing in themselves. The project supports non-profits like She’s the First and Step Up, which ensures girls are educated, supported and career-focused. To date, the project has helped close the gap for over 7,000 girls worldwide. Diane Reichenberger, Vice President of Consumer Products, Mattel, stated, “Together, Barbie and Betty Crocker can inspire the limitless potential in every girl by making learning even more fun and by dedicating resources to remove barriers for the next generation.”
As a woman, I have heard countless jokes about women belonging in the kitchen and how “plastic makes perfect.” The stigmas against female success are pervasive and real, and campaigns like the BettyLab and the Barbie Dream Gap project give me hope. When I was young enough to have a Barbie doll, her main concerns were getting a bigger closet and the hot pink convertible. Mattel was right to shift gears and focus on Barbie thriving in a multitude of careers. Today, she is actively focusing on how to empower impressionable young women, and that is more beautiful than all her fashionable clothes put together. I am proud to work for ForeFront Packaging, a woman-owned business and member of the WBENC, and am inspired by our leadership every day.
Explore the BettyLab: https://www.bettycrocker.com/bettylab
Learn more about the Dream Gap Project: https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about/dream-gap.html
