Barbie’s sales have boomed in the last year. For years, the dolls’ sales were struggling and backlash was mounting. But since 2015, Mattel has taken actionable steps to promote diversity and inclusion in their Barbies, creating dolls that represent everyone and every body—not just blonde white women. They introduced dolls with various body sizes, skin tones, and hair textures, as well as their first Hijab-wearing doll. Now, sales are showing how young consumers are responding, with Mattel generating nearly $1.5 billion from Barbie sales in 2020 alone, and she’s been called “one of the hottest toys of the pandemic.” Today, Barbie is making YouTube vlogs and talking about social justice and COVID-19, and Mattel’s pivot to inclusion has paid off. (NPR, NYPost)
