How’s this for a sign of the times? Hasbro is jumping into the equal-pay debate and taking it one step further. Today the company announced “the first-ever game in the Monopoly franchise that celebrates women trailblazers with Ms. Monopoly.” And the first game where “women make more than men.”
The company tells us, “while Mr. Monopoly is a real-estate mogul, Ms. Monopoly is an advocate whose mission is to invest in female entrepreneurs.” Properties are replaced by inventions and innovations created by females. And instead of buying houses, you build business headquarters.
And this isn’t just a game. To go along with the launch Hasbro gave out real money to young female inventors. Three teenagers each received $20,580 (the same amount of Monopoly money featured in the game) to help them with their inventions. Hasbro describes the winners:
- Sophia Wang, a 16-year-old from Connecticut invented
a device that can detect sinkholes before they occur, and after two years of
work, her prototype is now 93% accurate. She is hoping to get it patented and
in the hands of communities in Florida that are vulnerable to sinkholes. - Gitanjali Rao, a 13-year-old from Denver came up
with an invention that helps detect lead in drinking water so that individuals
can do the test themselves and get results sooner. Her goal is to create an
inexpensive, easy to use, portable device so that people all around the world
can use it. - Ava Canney, a 16-year-old from Ireland, invented
a spectrometer that measures the amount of dye in candy and soda. After
studying the harmful effects of additives in our food, Ava set out to help
people make educated decisions about the toxins they put into their bodies.
Take a look at the girls and their inventions below.