Julie Bishop honoured with her own Barbie doll
Julie Bishop has been honoured many different times throughout her career, and although she doesn't have an Order of Australia just yet, she does have something almost no other Aussie has: Her own Barbie doll.
Toy giant Mattel is honouring Bishop as its 2021 Australian role model for being a "true trailblazer" in politics and the roles she has occupied since, giving her a one-off doll that is, sadly, not for sale.
August 26, 2018, was a symbolic day for Bishop, who decided to quit politics. Which is why she chose the outfit she wore on the day for her doll.
Completing the look are matching diamond earrings and brooch, a diplomatic passport and Bishop's silver carry-on suitcase.
The hairstyle is also more reflective of Bishop's 2018 cut than what she opts for now.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bishop revealed her love for Barbie goes back nearly six decades.
She mentioned that she still has the Jackie Kennedy doll her parents gifted her as a child.
“Knowing how much Barbie had meant to me as a little girl, knowing how Barbie had evolved into this doll that inspired young girls to choose fascinating careers, I jumped at this opportunity,” she says.
In the past, Barbie has been relentlessly criticised for reinforcing stereotypes around gender and promoting an unrealistic body image.
But Bishop believes the company's ethos has moved "even ahead of the feminist zeitgeist", as well as on matters of diversity, and that such perceptions are "outdated".
Mattel paid tribute to Bishop's love of fashion in their explanation of why they chose to honour her.
The company was impressed with Bishop after she formed a partnership between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Fashion Chamber to promote the local industry.
“I wanted to help promote Australian fashion. The industry was such a massive contributor to our ... economy, yet it received very little attention.
“It sent a message that you can be a fashion aficionado and still have a very serious job. The more people would try to use my interest in fashion as a negative, the more I saw it as a positive to get out that message.”
Bishop’s involvement with Mattel includes working on its “Dream Gap” project, which aims to show girls as young as five that they can achieve the same career goals as boys. Locally, she says there’s a major “dream gap” among Indigenous youth, and as ANU chancellor she is focusing on attracting more First Nations students, including through new scholarships.