Diverse representation is critical and important to societal growth and change3, more so than ever before. And it’s about time, too: As we make our way through the 21st century, the more inclusivity we can foster, the better. Unfortunately, not ever industry is as diverse as we’d like it to be. Tech and web development, for example, is dominated by white men — despite the fact that white women and women of color are making waves, each and every day. But the lack of representation probably explains why Mattel, creators of Barbie, made a web developer Barbie and kept her white — but for one black web developer, that just simply wasn’t going to work. The story goes like this: A black couple, both web developers, were tickled to find that Mattel had released a web developer Barbie — the only problem being that there wasn’t a black version. The wife was disappointed — until her husband came up with an amazing plan. Meet the inspiring and creative couple behind the story below, and find out how they took the matter of diversity and representation into their own hands.
He posted photos of his efforts on social media, which have since gone viral. “My ultimate goal was to make my wife smile,” he said. “That’s really what I wanted. It was a birthday present and I just wanted to make sure she was happy.” His beloved wife couldn’t have been more pleased with his efforts. ““If you see someone who looks like you doing something you want to do, it feels more possible,” she said.