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Barbie, the toy doll that is a perennial favourite among girls, has been assigned a new career – computer engineer. But how accurate is the glam-looking tech support Barbie compared to real life?

Barbie in her tech support finery

She’s got an impressive CV that includes everything from astronaut to racing car driver. But Barbie, the doll best known for her tiny waist and inexplicably high arches, has added another job to the list: computer engineer.

Her new occupation is the result of an online vote hosted by Barbie’s makers, Mattel – and the doll itself was unveiled last week at the New York Toy Fair.

The new doll is decked out in black spangled leggings and a lime-green fitted tunic patterned with binary code, worn under a slinky waistcoat, with saddle-stitching detail. The ensemble is topped off with the requisite hot-pink accessories: glasses, watch and shoes. To emphasise her innate “techiness” she carries a pink laptop and sports a Bluetooth headset.

Slouchy jeans

And then there’s the trademark lustrous Barbie hair – seemingly untouched by working days spent facing a computer terminal in a stuffy and dry working environment.

So would tech support Barbie fit in among the IT crowd in your office?

It’s certainly a catwalk away from the slouchy jeans, T-shirt and trainers look sported by many of the men who dominate the information technology sector.

Web developer and former dotcom employee Rachel Andrew says, in style terms, computing is still a man’s, man’s, man’s world… Continue reading