Virgin Atlantic Announces Barbie Partnership to Encourage Girls into Aviation Careers

In September 2019, we announced a partnership with Barbie UK to encourage more girls to consider careers in aviation, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The collaboration formed part of Barbie's Dream Gap Project, which aimed to challenge the stereotypes and self-limiting beliefs that can influence children's career aspirations from an early age. To bring the partnership to life, we introduced three specially designed Barbie dolls representing a Virgin Atlantic pilot, aircraft engineer and cabin crew member. The dolls wore uniforms and accessories inspired by those used by our colleagues, including a pilot's uniform, an engineer's safety equipment and our Vivienne Westwood cabin crew uniform. The designs also reflected different ethnicities and body types, helping to present a broader picture of the people working in aviation. The initiative responded to the underrepresentation of women in certain aviation professions. At the time, figures cited by the campaign indicated that women accounted for approximately 12% of the UK's engineering workforce and 4.3% of pilots. By highlighting these roles through familiar toys and the #SeeHerFly campaign, we wanted to help girls see piloting and engineering as realistic career choices. The partnership also included plans for engagement with schools and opportunities for young people to meet women working in aviation. It complemented our wider efforts to improve gender representation within the airline and encourage more young women to explore technical and operational careers.