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Mattel, amid a splashy announcement of new, more anatomically responsible Barbie dolls, introduced a Barbie doll modeled after soccer superstar Abby Wambach last week. Abby Wambach (at  left), by Harvardton (Own work)  [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Most media in western New York -- Wambach's hometown is suburban Rochester -- gushed over the big toymaker's announcement. Picking up on Wambach's Twitter posts, reporters marveled at Mattel's recognition of her sports accomplishments by creating an Abby doll.  Not one reporter, however, asked if Mattel's celebration of Wambach would include some corporate support of U.S. Women's Soccer , the team her heroics helped build. It's a fair question. At least as viewed through my current Sudafed-affected head congestion. One an insightful reporter should have asked, but apparently didn't. In fact, Mattel's corporate philanthropy track record speaks well of its support of play, both...

A few weeks ago, I chided pen make Bic for its sexist ads. I'm not the only one.  Here's an amusing take on what others did with the Bic ad campaign:  http://magazine.good.is/articles/bad-ad-backfires?utm_source=TSE&utm_medium=FB&utm_campaign=pd&ts_pid=2

Two companies recently took steps to change how they approach the female demographic. Target took a step forward. BIC took a step backward. Target announced it would remove in-store signs that categorize products as gender-specific. Good move; it should be up to the parents and their kids to determine which toys sons and daughters prefer. While a minor issue -- no one had filed a lawsuit over the "girls' building sets" signs -- it's a simple change that shows the big retailer's listening to its customers. The company earned positive media coverage for it. BIC's faux pas was a hastily launched and withdrawn online ad tied to Women's Day in South Africa. You can read about it here.  Bad form, BIC. Objectifying women and telling them to "think like a man" insults every woman who's ever had her suggestions batted down by a lame-brained male executive.  BIC, you'll recall, launched a line of pink and purple "BIC for Her...

Hats off to Google for opening their wallet where it's needed: in diversifying its workforce. Geneva Hats. Photo (c) DKassnoff, 2014. Google is paying to help women and minorities learn to write computer code, according to Business Insider.  A month ago, the company admitted it didn't have enough women or people of color in those IT jobs, and cited a lack of women and minorities studying IT to assume those jobs. This, tied with its $50 million " Made with Code " initiative, are fine steps toward ensuring a more diverse workforce. But, as I wrote here a month ago, Google's diversity effort is only 2/3 complete. Transforming the Internet colossus into a more-diverse business will really succeed if it also diversifies its leadership ranks. That's where the biggest gaps existed, according to Google's own numbers. Women and multicultural executives are essential to creating a business culture that's consistently mindful of the need for continued...

By Oregon Department of Transportation (Diversity Uploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Wow. Say what you will about Google's massive  Internet presence,  but when they mess up, they're not shy about it. A few days ago, Google admitted its workforce was overwhelmingly white. And male. They shared some metrics here . This is unusually forthright, because there's no major litigation facing Google regarding workforce inequities. Instead, they got out in front of their problem, defusing potential negative publicity before criticism or litigation arose. But dig deeper and you find their statistics are somewhat worse when it comes to the diversity of the company's leadership. Google's overall workforce is: 30 percent female, 70 percent male.  61 percent white,  30 percent Asian,  2 percent African American, and  3 percent Hispanic. Google's leadership demographics are less fo...