On the eve of International Women’s Day, an asset manager on Wall Street had a statue of a fearless girl installed to face the iconic bull statue already in place. The intention of doing so is to highlight a lack of gender diversity and equality in the workplace.
Created by artist Kristen Visbal, The Fearless Girl statue has drawn hoards of attention for a beneficial purpose. According to a statement released by the State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the statue is part of a call on more than 3,500 companies that benefit from clients’ investments to ensure that their governing boards are diverse. Ron O’Hanley of SSGA commented:
“A key contributor to effective independent board leadership is diversity of thought, which requires directors with different skills, backgrounds and expertise. Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action.”
Reuters relays that The Fearless Girl statue may continue to face off with the bull for at least a month – if not longer.
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