Entrepreneur Barbie: Good Or Bad For Girls?

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's 2014 and Barbie is now finding her way as an entrepreneur, closing deals and launching the next billion-dollar tech company.

Say hello to "Entrepreneur Barbie." who, according to Mattel's website is "ready for the next big pitch."

"Alongside Barbie, female entrepreneurs are changing the world, surpassing their goals and showing girls they can be both capable and captivating," the iconic toy company said in a news release, adding that Barbie has had more than 150 careers.

Entrepreneur Barbie reportedly was inspired by 10 real-life businesswomen, including Reshma Saujani of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit devoted to gender parity in computing and other STEM fields.

"You can't be what you can't see," Saujani told Wired, as part of a promotional push for the new toy. "Unfortunately we live in a culture where girls are bombarded with images of male coders and engineers that just don't look like them."

That's a good point.

Women have long been missing from technical fields and pushed away from math and science in school.

However, here is what girls actually see in Entrepreneur Barbie, according to Mattel's website.

As she closes her latest deal, Mattel says she needs to be wearing that "sophisticated dress in signature pink that features modern color blocking and a sleek silhouette."

Of course, she will complete the look with her "smart phone, tablet and briefcase [which] are always by her side."

No proper business woman would strike out on her own without Entrepreneur Barbie's "glam necklace, cool clutch and elegant hairstyle, [which are] are awesome extras for a smart, stylish career woman."

Entrepreneur Barbie retails for $12.99.

Other accessories: like a good education, mentors, confidence-building and self-esteem are not included.

Candice Cummins is the owner of Wishcraft workshop. She left a job as a vice president at Sony to empower girls and women.

She is not a big fan.

"I would however appreciate a free sample so that I could use it to teach our students the many erroneous assumptions about girls/womens' bodies and about entrepreneurs," she wrote on Facebook.