Mountaineer Evelyne Binsack receives her own Barbie doll

By honoring female role models, Barbie aims to close the so-called "Dream Gap". The term describes the gap that stands between girls and realizing their full potential. A study shows that girls start to doubt their potential from the age of five. Barbie wants girls around the world to grow up with the "you can be anything" attitude, according to the release. The world's most famous doll therefore acts as a role model and creates a play world full of possibilities, dreams and belief in oneself.

To generate more attention for the "Dream Gap" in Switzerland, a talk with female personalities took place in Zurich on Tuesday. In addition to Evelyne Binsack, Meta Hiltebrand, chef and TV cook, and Laura Seifert, co-founder of the coworking platform We Space, also talked about how they hold their own in a male-dominated industry and what obstacles they have successfully overcome to achieve their goals. Also discussed was how parents can best instill in their children the willpower to purposefully pursue and achieve their own dreams. The highlight of the event was the honoring of the first Swiss Barbie Role Model and the ceremonial presentation of a One of a Kind-Barbie to Evelyne Binsack.

First Swiss woman on Mount Everest

Faith in herself made Evelyne Binsack the first Swiss woman to climb Mount Everest in 2001. She climbed the Eiger North Face a total of three times. By bicycle, on foot, with skis and sledges: Evelyne spent a whole 484 days on the road to reach the South Pole, and even from an expedition to the North Pole neither hardships nor organizational hurdles could keep her away.

"Even as a small child, I unconsciously became an adventurer when I knelt by a stream and decided I would never grow up," says Evelyne. "Often I had watched adults and quickly realized that I had no desire to be so serious and stressed myself, and to have to clearly commit to a career option." But Evelyne Binsack is not just a professional mountain guide and adventurer: as a speaker and bestselling book author, she shares insights into her experiences and outlook on life. She knows what she is talking about when she talks about topics such as motivation, perseverance and willpower: "When I have a goal in mind, I pursue it consistently. For example, when I started track and field training as a young woman, I could always bring myself to complete the prescribed training distance, even on bad days. Willpower can be trained like a muscle".

It is this mental strength and belief in oneself that Barbie now wants to memorialize with the doll modeled after her as part of the "Shero Campaign" launched in 2015.