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Chick magnate? Hasbro debuts 'Ms. Monopoly' game, where women run the show

In a new version of the board game, women make more than men.
Image: Hasbro has released Ms. Monopoly, a version of the classic board game that celebrates female trailblazers.
Hasbro has released Ms. Monopoly, a version of the classic board game that celebrates female trailblazers.Hasbro / via YouTube

While women battle the gender pay gap in the real world, Hasbro is releasing a new game called Ms. Monopoly that will pay women more than men — at least in Monopoly money.

In addition to shifting the gender pay gap, the game's famous properties will be replaced by innovations created by women. Instead of building houses, players will build corporate headquarters.

“From inventions like WiFi to chocolate chip cookies, solar heating and modern shapewear, Ms. Monopoly celebrates everything from scientific advancements to everyday accessories — all created by women,” Hasbro said in a news release on Tuesday.

The classic Monopoly game lets players collect $200 when they pass “Go.” Under the rules of Ms. Monopoly, male players will still get the usual $200, but women will receive $240, reversing the real-life pay gap between men and women in the workplace.

Ms. Monopoly herself is featured on the cover of the game box, and is identified as the niece of the famous Rich Uncle Pennybags mascot.

Ms. Monopoly is just one of many versions of the board game Hasbro has created in an effort to appeal to different audiences. There are licensed editions integrating popular titles, like Fortnite and Toy Story, but certain other niche editions have earned the company a fair amount of scrutiny.

Last year, Hasbro released Monopoly for Millennials, which included the tagline: “Forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway.” The game played to millennial stereotypes: Mr. Monopoly is wearing headphones and carrying a coffee on the cover of the board game, all while snapping a selfie. Instead of buying property, the game focuses on collecting experiences, such as going on a meditation retreat or to a vegan restaurant. The game led many millennials to say: “I can’t even,” while others said it was a lighthearted attempt to poke fun at the stereotype.

Like Monopoly for Millennials, Ms. Monopoly has earned some criticism from people who said the game “missed the mark.”

While Ms. Monopoly is designed to be fun — and hopefully enlightening — the real-world statistics show there’s still a long way to go until women reach pay parity.

A woman working full time in the United States earns 80.7 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to data from the United States Census Bureau. Additionally, the data shows that her median annual earnings are also $9,909 less than a man.

It gets even more dire. While the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research forecasts that pay parity won’t be reached in the United States until 2059, nearly 100 years after the legislation passed.

The game is available for pre-order at Walmart for $19.99 and will be on shelves at major retailers later this month.