Statue of ‘Fearless’ Girl Stares Down the Wall Street Bull on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2017 | By Brian Delpozo

In celebration of International Women’s Day, money management firm State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is driving home the idea that women and girls shouldn’t take bull from anyone.

On Tuesday March 7, the firm — who manage over $2 trillion in assets — installed a statue of a young girl in a defiant “hands on hips” pose directly across from the famous Wall Street Bull in lower Manhattan.

The company confirmed their installation of the statue with a statement that read in part, “SSGA has placed a statue of a young girl, representing the future, in the center of the world’s financial capital — right near Wall Street in New York City.”

Chris Ailman, chief investment officer of CalSTRS, showed support for the installation.

“Companies need to step up and better utilize the talents and leadership of women in their Corporate Boards, C-suite and throughout their ranks,” Ailman said. “This statue boldly signals to financial markets that the future depends on investing in the power of women. We all need to lean in and be bold for change now.”

The statue is part of a larger campaign being waged by SSGA to increase gender diversity in the financial sector. The firm announced a charitable initiative:

“To help address the gender gap head-on, SHE incorporates an innovative charitable component that focuses on strengthening the next generation of women leaders — particularly in industries where women have low representation today such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). SSGA is directing a portion of their revenues and a match from SSGA to a Donor Advised Fund, which has awarded a $50,000 grant to Girls Who Invest, a nonprofit organization founded in April 2015 dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry.”

In addition, SSGA vows to utilize the proxy voting powers it maintains in several companies to “help balance out the gender diversity of their boards.”