linguistic:translation
Diversity

"Colored Francie " made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African-American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked distinct African characteristics other than dark skin. The first African-American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968. Black Barbie was launched in 1980 but still had Caucasian features. In 1990, Mattel created a focus group with African-American children and parents, early childhood specialists, and clinical psychologist, Darlene Powell Hudson. Instead of using the same molds for the Caucasian Barbies, new ones were created. In addition, facial features, skin tones, hair texture, and names were all altered. The body shapes looked different, but the proportions were the same to ensure clothing and accessories were interchangeable. In September 2009, Mattel introduced the So In Style range, which was intended to create a more realistic depiction of African-American people than previous dolls.

Starting in 1980, it produced Hispanic dolls, and later came models from across the globe. For example, in 2007, it introduced " Cinco de Mayo Barbie" wearing a ruffled red, white, and green dress (echoing the Mexican flag). Hispanic magazine reports that:

ne of the most dramatic developments in Barbie's history came when she embraced multi-culturalism and was released in a wide variety of native costumes, hair colors and skin tones to more closely resemble the girls who idolized her. Among these were Cinco De Mayo Barbie, Spanish Barbie, Peruvian Barbie, Mexican Barbie and Puerto Rican Barbie. She also has had close Hispanic friends, such as Teresa.

Professor Emilie Rose Aguilo-Perez argued that over time, Mattel shifted from ambiguous Hispanic presentations in their dolls to one that is more assertive in its "Latinx" marketing and product labeling.

Mattel has responded to criticisms pointing to a lack of diversity in the line. In 2016, Mattel expanded the So In Style line to include seven skin tones, twenty-two eye colors, and twenty-four hairstyles. Part of the reason for this change was due to declining sales. The brand now offers over 22 skin tones, 94 hair colors, 13 eye colors and five body types.

Mattel teamed up with Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion Barbie doll with Oreo cookies in 1997 and 2001. While the 1997 release of the doll was only released in a white version, for the 2001 release Mattel manufactured both a white and a black version. The 2001 release Barbie Oreo School Time Fun was marketed as someone with whom young girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie". Critics argued that in the African American community, Oreo is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside", like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself.

In May 1997, Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, a doll in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.

In July 2024, Mattel released the first blind Barbie in collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind. Alongside this, the company also launched a black Barbie with Down syndrome.