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The Barbie Pay Gap

The personal finance experts at money.co.uk have analysed Barbie's professions to find out the average salary across the UK and the gender pay gap to reveal how different Barbie's earnings would be compared to her male counterpart Ken.

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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.Ìý

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.Ìý

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

% pay gap in the UK 2023

Updated 18 July 2023
OccupationUK average paygap
Film director-9.15%
Aerobics instructor-6.45%
Yoga teacher-6.45%
Wildlife conservationist-3.44%
Coffee shop worker-2.58%
Lifeguard-0.56%
Secretary0.14%
Ballerina0.55%
Dancer0.55%
Fashion model0.55%
Movie actor0.55%
Music producer0.55%
Musician0.55%
News anchor0.55%
Soccer coach1.13%
Gymnastics coach1.13%
Swim teacher1.13%
Tennis coach1.13%
Nurse1.51%
Waitress1.98%
Bee keeper2.48%
Farmer2.48%
Art teacher3.22%
Elementary school teacher3.22%
Music teacher3.22%
Sign language teacher3.22%
Pet groomer4.41%
Spanish teacher6.15%
Teacher6.15%
Marine biologist6.26%
Paleontologist6.26%
Firefighter8.10%
Veterinarian8.51%
Eye doctor8.71%
Cashier8.83%
Architect8.90%
Make-up artist8.99%
Chef9.39%
Hair stylist9.41%
Police officer10.54%
Astrophysicist11.19%
Business executive11.23%
Robotics engineering12.11%
Photographer12.34%
Photojournalist12.34%
Dentist12.43%
Computer engineer12.79%
Game developer12.79%
Astronaut14.58%
Paramedic15.32%
Fashion designer15.37%
Artist16.25%
Space Scientist17.26%
Surgeon17.27%
Doctor19.69%
Construction worker20.01%
Park ranger21.11%
Flight attendant23.93%
Judge31.30%

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.ÌýÌý

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.Ìý

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:

Updated 18 July 2023
Occupation (UK)Pay Gap (%)
Film director9.15%
Aerobics instructor6.45%
Yoga teacher6.45%
Wildlife conservationist3.44%
Coffee shop worker2.58%

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

Updated 18 July 2023
Occupation (UK)Pay Gap (%)
Judge31.30%
Flight attendant23.93%
Park ranger21.11%
Construction worker20.01%
Doctor19.69%

Which Barbie occupations are the highest paying for females?

Updated 18 July 2023
OccupationUK average paygapUK average earnings maleUK average earnings female
Surgeon17.27%£75,649£62,582
Doctor19.69%£68,766£55,225
Paramedic15.32%£53,702£45,474
Judge31.30%£62,206£42,736
Robotics engineering12.11%£48,253£42,408

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.Ìý

Which Barbie occupations are the lowest paying for females?

Updated 18 July 2023
OccupationUK average paygapUK average earnings maleUK average earnings female
Park ranger21.11%£22,432£17,697
Hair stylist9.41%£20,784£18,829
Waitress1.98%£19,220£18,839
Make-up artist8.99%£21,055£19,163
Cashier8.83%£21,207£19,335

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

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

“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.â€

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.Ìý

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.Ìý

Gender pay gap FAQs:

What is the gender pay gap?Ìý

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%.Ìý

How is the gender pay gap calculated?ÌýÌý

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.Ìý

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Methodology

Money.co.uk analysed 59 roles represented by different dolls in Barbie's "career" and each occupation against 2022 median fulltime pay data from UK ONS and and US Bureau of Labour Statistics and categorised each role against the occupation type available - where data for a specific occupation wasn't available the median fulltime pay for the group of occupations it belonged to was substituted.

To calculate the lifetime salary totals, the total number of years worked in each occupation was calculated from the year the doll was launched and the average 2022 salary for that occupation - no adjustment was made for real world average salary changes over that period.

Earnings for 'Ken' assumed he worked the same jobs for the same amount of time regardless of when or whether an equivalent doll was released.


About Lucinda O'Brien

As a trained journalist, Lucinda has spent the past 10 years writing and editing content for regional and national titles, including The Mirror, WalesOnline and Manchester Evening News. She is now a personal finance editor and specialises in savings, helping people to make confident financial decisions so they can save for what matters most.

View Lucinda O'Brien's full biography here or visit the money.co.uk press centre for our latest news.