海角大神

As a business school professor and the mother of a young daughter,听I am always on the lookout for toys that can inspire girls.听When I learned about this year鈥檚 girl-oriented entrepreneurship toys, for a few moments I was excited.

There is Entrepreneur Barbie doll, dubbed the 2014聽聽Barbie by Mattel.听

And for the tween set, Fashion Angels offers聽, a set of kits designed to help girls start businesses selling bead jewelry, cupcakes and manicures.听

My excitement was soon cut short.听No doubt these toys are well-intentioned, but ironically, they perpetuate the same gender stereotypes that discourage many women from becoming entrepreneurs.

Let鈥檚 start with the聽.听

We聽aren鈥檛 told聽what her business is or what kind of education or work experience it took to get started.听But we do know that she聽wears聽鈥渁 sophisticated dress in signature pink that features modern color blocking and a sleek silhouette,鈥� according to the聽.

Also this Barbie has 鈥渓uxe details, like a glam necklace, cool clutch and elegant hairstyle,鈥� which are 鈥渟mart, professional touches.鈥澛�

In other words, what it takes to become an entrepreneur is apparently wearing the right outfit.听

I鈥檓 guessing that would be news to Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

鈥淚t鈥檚 My Biz鈥� provides a similar message, with its implication that girls should be interested in businesses related to fashion (jewelry and T-shirts) and physical appearance (nail art).

A more subtle problem is the marketing of the kits, which highlights the idea of 鈥渁spiring SHE-E-Os.鈥� 聽

Rather than suggesting that entrepreneurship is a natural career path for women, this wording has the opposite implication: like the antiquated 鈥渓ady lawyer鈥� and 聽, the qualifying 鈥淪HE鈥� reinforces the idea that CEOs should be assumed male unless otherwise specified.

In the real world,听聽in entrepreneurship.听

They are less likely than men to be self-employed, and when they do start companies, they are less successful in raising capital.听

聽found that only 1 percent of companies that issued initial public offerings (IPOs) were headed by women.听

Another recent聽聽found that less than 3 percent of companies receiving venture capital had a female CEO. Only 15 percent had any female executives at all.听

Other research shows that entrepreneurs are associated in the popular imagination with聽聽masculine characteristics like competitiveness and assertiveness, and that entrepreneurship is portrayed in the聽聽and even in academic materials as a career more appropriate for men than for women.

So I鈥檓 certainly in favor of toys that encourage girls to consider entrepreneurship as a career.

I admit that Barbie Entrepreneur is, well, better than most Barbies.听聽And聽鈥淚t鈥檚 My Biz鈥� may actually teach some good lessons about how business works.听

Perhaps toymakers think they聽are聽giving consumers what they want.听

But really, is this the best we can do?聽

The evidence suggests otherwise.听

Even Disney, the company that gave us the exasperating 鈥淒isney Princesses鈥� phenomenon, has managed to create some good role models for girls with its 鈥淒oc McStuffins鈥� cartoon on the Disney Jr. channel (a big hit with my five-year-old), which features a young African-American girl with a gift for fixing toys.

Doc鈥檚 mother is a physician and her father cooks dinner.听 The toys (which can come to life) defy stereotypes too.听 In one role-reversing episode, a brave princess rescues a knight in distress.听 Doc McStuffins has been a聽聽with both boys and girls.

, a company founded by a female Stanford engineering graduate, has had huge success with its line of building toys aimed at girls 鈥� but also, as it turns out, appealing to boys.

Surely there would be a market for entrepreneurship toys that don鈥檛 reinforce outdated clich茅s about girls.

In the meantime, how can parents encourage their daughters to become entrepreneurs? 聽聽

The key is to encourage girls to BE smart, not dress smart.听One recent聽聽examined entrepreneurship among a set of innovative young scientists and engineers (nearly all of whom have Ph.D.s), and found that in this elite group women and men were equally likely to start businesses.听

And education matters not just for starting businesses, but also for聽.听Moreover, the聽聽on new venture performance are especially strong for women entrepreneurs.听

So the lesson for parents this Christmas:聽if you want to open entrepreneurial doors for your daughter, don鈥檛 buy her a Barbie.听 Buy her a book.

Melissa E. Graebner,听Ph.D.,听is an associate professor of management at The University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches entrepreneurship and strategy. She is a Public Voices Fellow with聽