GoldieBlox is a toy company, invented by Debbie Sterling, with the goal of getting young girls building. The idea behind this now incredibly popular toy/creation, was that girls have very limited options of what toys they can play with. The only toys that are made for little girls are princesses and barbies and dress up. This teaches girls from a young age that they have a set role in society, and it’s not to be the future inventors and engineers of our society.

GoldieBlox is a collection of toys that are targeted for girls,ages 4 to 9, that is designed to get girls to build contraptions. If you can imagine what a young boys’ toy would look like, (building machines and putting things together), GoldieBlox is the same thing, just for girls!

My social justice group had the pleasure of meeting and talking with the creator of GoldieBlox, Debbie Sterling, when she came to our school to give a presentation on her company. We talked briefly about what it was like for her at Stanford, when she was one of the few girls in the Engineering major, and how expected roles for women shape the way girls view themselves, and their worth. Debbie recalled how difficult it was for her, being one of the only girls in her class, and how she would get weird looks when she even entered the room. As women and girls, we have grown up in a man’s world. The country is predominantly run by men, businesses are predominantly run by men and all in all, men receive a great deal more respect than women in all fields. It is our job to change that, and GoldieBlox is teaching girls that they can do anything they want to do. It is teaches girls how to thrive in a man’s world, until the world is no longer a man’s world, but the people’s world.