150th Career Doll celebrates women entrepreneurs,
and shows us that With Barbie™, ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE
TORONTO, July 9, 2014 /CNW/ - The number of women
entrepeneurs around the world is growing and the ratio of Canadian
female entrepreneurs compared to men soared a remarkable 30 per
cent over the last year and a half*. A recent Canadian survey
hosted on the Angus Reid Forum reveals that 70 per cent of Canadian
women entrepreneurs believed that anything was possible when they
were a young girl — a belief Barbie® advocates and is celebrating
with the launch of her 150th career doll, Entrepreneur Barbie®, in
Canada.
In honour of Barbie® founder and entrepreneur extraordinaire,
Ruth Handler, Entrepreneur Barbie®
follows in very big footsteps. Barbie® after all became an
astronaut in 1965, four years before man walked on the moon, and
first ran for President of the United
States in 1992. Entrepreneur Barbie® has a mission, to
inspire every child's imagination and to empower children to follow
their dreams.
Alongside the launch of Entrepreneur Barbie®, the
first-ever Barbie™ Business Bursary program is being
introduced to inspire children to not only dream big, but to
believe that those dreams can become a reality. The
Barbie™ Business Bursary program is a national search
for Canada's Next Young Entrepreneurs, and a celebration of can-do
spirit designed to spark the growth of Canada's next-gen of
leaders.
Barbie™ — Building Tomorrow's Stars
Today
The Barbie™ Business Bursary encourages Canadians to
nominate a budding entrepreneur – yourself, children, siblings,
cousins, students or friends – under the age of 18, who
demonstrates true entrepreneurial spirit, from now until
September 1, 2014. To enter the
national competition, simply visit the www.barbie.com/mydreams and
share your or your nominee's entrepreneurial dream.
Barbie™ will select ten amazing nominees and post
their video profiles on Barbie™ my Dreams; and a jury panel will
then select three winners to receive a $2500 Barbie™ Business Bursary to fund
their big ideas.
"Barbie™ strives to empower children to imagine
themselves in a variety of roles from pilot to president," says
Alicia Sumar, Brand Manager, Barbie
– Mattel Canada Inc. "We know from research that play is a positive
force that encourages a child's creativity and imagination. Playing
with Barbie® fosters the belief that anything is
possible. We are proud to launch this Canadian Barbie™
Business Bursary initiative to help make children's' dreams and
aspirations come true."
Introducing Canada's Chief Inspiration Officer
To
celebrate her newest career, Barbie™ has searched for the perfect
Canadian entrepreneur to help in the mission of inspiring budding
entrepreneurs. An extensive searched proved that Montreal's Erica
Diamond was the perfect candidate to be Barbie Canada's Chief Inspiration Officer. As an
acclaimed entrepreneur, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of
womenonthefence.com, an award-winning blog that aims to teach,
inspire, empower and unite all women to chase their dreams, Erica
will lead the jury panel in selecting the Barbie™
Business Bursary finalists and eventual winners.
"Mattel has always encouraged children to think big, and the
Barbie™ Business Bursary presents the perfect
opportunity for Canadian children to make their business dream a
reality," says Erica. "Barbie® was always there for me
as a role model when I was a child. She inspired me to dream big
and be fearless, and today, I'm living out those dreams," she
continues. "I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and to
make a difference and help other women and girls do the same. The
Barbie™ Business Bursary is an important initiative that
recognizes and rewards young entrepreneurs and invests in our
leaders of tomorrow."
Mattel Canada is creating an
exclusive one-of-a-kind Barbie® in Erica's
likeness to honour her role as Chief Inspiration Officer for
Barbie™ Canada.
Survey Says…
To get a read on what is on the minds of
Canada's top women entrepreneurs, Mattel
Canada conducted a survey in June
2014, hosted on the Angus Reid Forum. It revealed the
following inspiring insights:
- 70 per cent of Canadian women entrepreneurs believed that
anything was possible when they were a young girl
- 70 per cent of Canadian women entrepreneurs said it was a
parent that helped them foster the belief that anything is
possible
- 2/3 of Canadian women entrepreneurs believe they are currently
living out the dreams they had as a young girl
A Tribute to Ruth Handler, the
Original Entrepreneur
Today, Entrepreneur
Barbie® represents and celebrates a diverse group of
inspiring female game-changers and ceiling-breakers from around the
world, and it all started with Ruth
Handler, Barbie® founder. Ruth created the
world's first and iconic fashion doll for her daughter, back in
1959, to encourage her to play out her dreams. Entrepreneur
Barbie®, the 150th Career Doll, and the new
Barbie Business Bursary initiative, follows in the same brave
footsteps as Ruth and her strong entrepreneurial spirit.
"I can tell you that as a young girl, I played with
Barbie® and imagined that I could be anything I wanted –
an astronaut, doctor, scientist, even the Prime Minister!" says
Erica. "Barbie® was part of my every day play and
she traveled with me everywhere – in the car, on the train or
plane, she was right beside me, every step of the way. I can't wait
to see how Barbie® and her new Business Bursary program inspires
young Canadian girls in the months and years to come!"
Entrepreneur Barbie® is now available on amazon.ca,
toysrus.ca & walmart.ca and will be available at select toy
retailers nationwide this August.
About Mattel
The Mattel family of companies (Nasdaq: MAT) is the worldwide
leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family
products. Mattel's portfolio of best-selling brands includes
Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever produced, Hot Wheels®,
Monster High®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends® and
Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People® and Power Wheels®,
MEGA® Brands, including MEGA BLOKS® and RoseArt®, as well as a wide
array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. In 2013, Mattel was
named one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by Ethisphere
Magazine and in 2014 ranked No. 5 on Corporate Responsibility
Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list. With worldwide
headquarters in El Segundo,
Calif., Mattel's companies employ nearly 30,000 people in 40
countries and territories and sell products in more than 150
nations. At Mattel, we are Creating the Future of Play. Visit us at
www.mattel.com, www.facebook.com/mattel or
www.twitter.com/mattel.
*Forbes Magazine – March 2013
**From June 6th to June 9th 2014
an online survey was conducted among 512 randomly selected Canadian
women entrepreneurs who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin
of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 4.4%, 19 times
out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according
to age and region. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to
rounding.
SOURCE Mattel