Toymaker Hasbro is putting its own spin on the gender pay gap debate, on Tuesday announcing a new Monopoly game in which women players get more money than men.
Hasbro Inc. is introducing a new version of the classic board game called Ms. Monopoly, where the Monopoly Man, with his mustache, cane and top hat, is replaced by a blazer-wearing, coffee-swilling businesswoman — an “advocate whose mission is to reinvest in female entrepreneurs.”
Another big difference in the new game: Women earn more than men. Female players start out with 1,900 Monopoly dollars, while male players get 1,500 bucks. Women also collect more after passing “Go,” earning 240 Monopoly dollars instead of the usual 200 Monopoly bucks.
The twist is intended to draw attention to the real-world disparity between what women and men are paid at work. Female employees typically earn 79 cents for every dollar that men earn.
But the toy manufacturer also noted that “if men play their cards right, they can make more money too.” For example, a female player who gets one of the game’s 16 “Community Chest” cards can collect 200 Monopoly dollars for publishing an article on successful women entrepreneurs, while a man can earn 250. Watching the newest superhero movie with a female lead will earn female players 50 Monopoly dollars and a male player 100.
The capitalism game features a new look but similar classic game play. Spots on the board such as railroads and the electric company are replaced with ride-hailing services and Wi-Fi, and properties such as the coveted Park Place make way for groundbreaking inventions and innovations created by women throughout history, including chocolate chip cookies, solar heating and modern shapewear.
Instead of building houses and hotels, players build business headquarters. The game pieces include a hard hat, wristwatch, book, jet, goblet and free weight.
“Ms. Monopoly celebrates everything from scientific advancements to everyday accessories — all created by women,” Hasbro said.
Ms. Monopoly celebrates female inventors, but one was conspicuously missing from the announcement: Elizabeth Magie, a progressive and feminist whose role in developing Monopoly itself has long been diminished.
“I think if Hasbro was serious about women’s empowerment, they could start by admitting that a woman invented the game,” said Mary Pilon, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and the author of “The Monopolists,” a 2015 history of the board game.
Monopoly’s invention is often credited to Charles Darrow, who sold the game to Parker Brothers in 1935, but Ms. Pilon and others argue that he and Hasbro owe it all to Magie, who is acknowledged, briefly, inside the box of the new Ms. Monopoly.
Ms. Monopoly is available for pre-order and will be sold at MaltaComics.
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