When I was growing up, I didn’t own a single Black or Brown Barbie doll. As a little girl, I never saw myself represented in the dolls. Today, however, my children are having a very different experience with Barbie, which is now one of the most diverse and inclusive doll lines in the market.
The dolls have come a long way, representing over 35 skin tones, 94 hairstyles and nine body types, and reflecting physical disabilities, including a doll with a wheelchair and a prosthetic leg. And yet, even the most diverse and inclusive doll line can make mistakes.
Last week, Barbie was in the headlines, being slammed by consumers for promoting its collection for the Tokyo Olympics that included a big miss: The lineup didn’t include a Barbie who appeared to be Asian. For a brand that has made so much progress on its inclusion journey, how could this happen?
Here are three diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lessons marketers can take from Barbie’s last mistake.
1. You can still make mistakes even amid DEI progress
Barbie has made some incredible strides in diversifying its collection. Before the Tokyo Olympics, Barbie released a Naomi Osaka doll as part of the Barbie Role Model series. The doll sold out just hours after being released.
Then how did the brand make such a big mistake with its Tokyo Olympics collection?
Making progress on your DEI journey as a brand doesn’t make you immune from making mistakes. Remember to embrace humility and to understand that the work in DEI is a continuous learning journey.
Be vigilant to ensure that you aren’t excluding voices or perpetuating stereotypes. Be sure to ask questions and interrogate what you are bringing to the marketplace, even if you think you have it right. Be open to asking for help. Brands, just like people, will continue to make mistakes as you work to build an inclusive product line.
As marketers, if you want to authentically represent and serve a community, remember this: Nothing for us, without us.
2. Focus on who has a seat at the table
Some consumers concluded that the fair-skinned, brunette skateboarder Barbie included in the collection was modeled after a person of Asian descent. And given that the Olympics were a major global event held in Japan, even checking the box with one doll was not enough. The question is: Were there enough voices representing the Asian community at the table?
As marketers, if you want to authentically represent and serve a community, remember this: Nothing for us, without us. If you don’t have enough voices from the community you are representing at the table, be open about it. And the burden can’t just be on one person who represents the Asian community.
Ensure you bring in voices beyond your marketing team. Ask for help from your cross-functional team members and your agency partners. If you don’t have the voices you need at the table, hire them. These voices can be influencers, agency partners, consultants and thought leaders from the Asian community. And once they have a seat at the table, make sure their voice is heard and that their opinions matter.
3. Brands have a responsibility to shatter stereotypes
“Mattel renders #AsianAmericans invisible while touting ‘most diverse doll line yet,’ highlighting an Asian country, featuring #Barbie in Japanese karate uniform, [and] branding each doll ‘Tokyo official,'” Japanese American visual artist Drue Kataoka tweeted.
By not including an Asian-appearing athlete in the Tokyo Olympics collection, Barbie unfortunately further perpetuated the stereotype facing the Asian community as the invisible minority. At the Olympics, several Asian-American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) representing Team USA won medals. Sunisa Lee made history in the gymnastics individual all-around as the first Asian American woman to win the gold medal.
Barbie, like other brands, has a responsibility to lift the voices of historically marginalized communities. The Asian experience is not often talked about and, with the growing rise of hate crimes against the AAPI community, it’s an opportunity for brands to change the narrative and shatter stereotypes.
Even the brands doing the hard work to be more inclusive will make mistakes. What matters next is how they show up afterward. We will be watching and waiting to see how Barbie shows up, stands up, and authentically serves and represents the Asian community.
