The Barbie Pay Gap

Barbara Millicent Roberts or Barbie as she’s better known, has been an icon for many young girls and boys for decades.

She’s been hard at work at a whole host of jobs for over the last six decades, and she’s not slowing down any time soon either.

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With the doll performing over 70+ professional job roles throughout her life; from a fashion model to doctor; tennis player to beekeeper, there are very few occupations Barbie has not worked.

However, life in plastic is not looking all that fantastic. 

The personal finance experts at money.co.uk have analysed Barbie's professions to find out the average salary across the UK and USA and the gender pay gap within each role. The analysis highlights that despite equality laws there is still a large disparity between females and males in the professional world. 

It turns out the only equality between Barbie and her male counterpart Ken, is their price tag. 

% pay gap in the UK 2023

Barbie may be living in her dream house, but we could argue not her dream role.

Across the 60 roles analysed with pay gap data available, only 35% of the occupations that Barbie has worked, see females earning more than males.

She may be the Barbie girl but it’s still very much a man's world.

You cannot argue that over the years Barbie has made gigantic leaps for gender bias and equality throughout her lifetime. With the brand providing Barbie with careers where women are woefully sparse, Barbie has been a stable game-changer, showcasing to young children all over the globe that you can live your dream and be who you want to be.

However, despite efforts and campaigns by women’s rights groups to close the gender pay gap, it still exists. Two known major contributors to the gender pay gap are fewer females working managerial or senior roles and women working part-time.  

Ken would earn millions more if he worked the same roles

Barbie's astounding CV across the occupations with data available and the number of years worked in each role was analysed to calculate the earning disparity should Ken have the same resume. 

In the UK, Barbie’s lifetime salary across the 59 roles with data available would total a whopping £45.4 million (£45,428,296), whereas Ken would earn over £4 million more (£49,554,215).

Which Barbie occupations have the greatest gender pay gap?

Over the years, Barbie has made gigantic leaps for gender bias and equality throughout her lifetime. With the brand providing Barbie with careers where women are woefully sparse, Barbie has been a stable game-changer, showcasing to young children all over the globe that you can live your dream and be who you want to be.

However, despite efforts and campaigns by women’s rights groups to close the gender pay gap, it still exists. Two known major contributors to the gender pay gap are fewer females working managerial or senior roles and women working part-time.

Top 5 Barbie occupations where females are paid more than males in the UK:

Top 5 Barbie occupations where males are paid more than females in the UK:

Which Barbie occupations are the highest paying for females?

Four out of five of Barbie's highest paying roles sit within the STEM industry, with not a single one paying females more than males.

Of the highest paid positions, Judge Barbie has the highest salary difference with Men earning £19,470 on average more than females. 

Which Barbie occupations are the lowest paying for females?

Out of the lowest paying job positions, Park Ranger Barbie has the greatest difference with men earning on average £4.7k (21.1%) more than women in the same role. 

Commenting on the analysis, money.co.uk’s business bank account expert Lucinda O’Brien said: 

“Children’s career aspirations have long been defined by gender stereotypes; it’s therefore refreshing and positive to see Barbie working a whole variety of jobs (president being one of them!) in the latest live action Barbie movie. Young girls watching their favourite doll in roles that they might have otherwise seen as not for them, can only serve to encourage positive change.

However, even with Barbie working across a wide variety of job sectors in recent years representing females in largely male dominated positions, women continue to be misrepresented in the working world. Although there are current laws in place ensuring equal pay, the data still reveals men continue to be favoured in the workplace. More measurable steps need to be taken to re-address this balance.”

Movie star Barbie’s net worth revealed

The fashionista has never been a stranger to the cameras and has an astounding career in film, starring in nearly 40 movies, with movie sales racking up over a billion dollars. 

Now no one would argue Barbie is an A-lister, so the personal finance experts analysed the average earnings for today’s A-lister stars, to reveal Movie star Barbie’s net worth. The analysis shows of the 36 leading lady movies Barbie appeared in she could have earned £15 million per film on average and a total of £570 million overall. 

Gender pay gap FAQs:

What is the gender pay gap? 

The gender pay gap is the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women. It is an issue that affects women globally. In the UK, in 2020, the median gender pay gap was 15.5%. In the USA that gap is slightly higher at 16%. 

How is the gender pay gap calculated?  

It’s calculated by adding up the wages of all male and female employees and dividing it by the number of employees. The pay gap is the difference between the mean figures for men and women, which is reported as a percentage.

Why does the gender pay gap exist?

There are a variety of reasons the gender pay gap is still something we must contend with. These can range from discrimination in the workplace and patriarchal notions of gender roles, to the stereotyping of the kinds of jobs men and wome take as well as the lack women in senior positions. Read more about how the gender pay gap impacts women.