Sarah Gilbert, a British Coronavirus vaccine developer has been honored by a global toymaker Mattel Inc. with her very own Barbie doll resemblance, including 5 other women on August 4.
Mattel Inc. released another lineup in addition to their program, featuring 6 women that are modern real-life heroes in this pandemic.
“Barbie recognizes that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Barbie & Dolls, Mattel shared.
In 2020, Mattel Inc started the #ThankYouHeroes program to recognize individuals who have led the fight against COVID-19.
One of these women is the 59-year-old Gilbert, a professor at Oxford University, and is one of the co-developers of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine co-developer Sarah Gilbert is honored with a Barbie doll. Gilbert's Barbie shares the scientist's long auburn hair, oversized black glasses and wears a navy blue pantsuit and white blouse https://t.co/fMICB5rcKr pic.twitter.com/2tgDNjahua
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2021
Gilbert’s very own Barbie has the same long auburn hair as her, as well as her notable oversized black glasses, and wears a simple navy-blue pantsuit with a white blouse underneath.
“It’s a very strange concept having a Barbie doll created in my likeness. I hope it will be part of making it more normal for girls to think about careers in science,” Gilbert said in an interview for Mattel.
The global lineup of women that Mattel Inc has recently honored also includes:
- Amy O’Sullivan, RN (United States) – an Emergency Room nurse who treated the first COVID-19 patient in Brooklyn at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. She became ill and was intubated afterward but returned to work and continued to take care of others after a few weeks.
- Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz (United States) – a frontliner from Las Vegas who joined hands with other Asian-American physicians to fight racial bias and discrimination.
- Chika Stacy Oriuwa (Canada) – a psychiatry resident from the University of Toronto, Canada who advocated against systematic racism in healthcare, which the pandemic has highlighted.
- Dr. Jaqueline Goes de Jesus (Brazil) – a biomedical researcher who has been credited for leading the sequencing of the genome of a COVID-19 variant in Brazil.
- Dr. Kirby White (Australia) – a general practitioner from Australia who co-founded the Gowns for Doctors initiative. Their project is to develop a PPE gown that can be laundered and reused.
Gilbert chose the nonprofit organization Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) that is dedicated to inspiring girls in considering a career under STEM as the receiver of the financial donation from Mattel Inc.
Mattel Inc. is one of the leading Barbie doll makers in the world, which is composed of iconic toy brands including Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO and MEGA, and more.
Source: https://corporate.mattel.com/news/mattel-once-again-says-thankyouheroes-by-supporting-first-responders-childrens-foundation-and-honoring-global-frontline-medical-workers-with-one-of-a-kind-barbie-dolls
