She may be little, but she is fierce! A new statue of a little girl popped up on Tuesday, March 7, in New York City’s Financial District across from Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull. The girl has her hands on her hips and appears to be defiantly staring down the animal.
The stunt was coordinated ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8. It’s part of a campaign by investment management company State Street Global Advisors to raise awareness about the lack of women on corporate boards and the pay gap for women working in the finance industry. Along with the artwork, the company has implemented new guidelines to encourage the 3,500 public companies it invests in on behalf of its clients to hire more female directors on their boards.
“A key contributor to effective independent board leadership is diversity of thought, which requires directors with different skills, backgrounds and expertise,” State Street Global Advisors CEO Ron O’Hanley said in a statement, via Adweek. “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.”
According to Adweek, the statue, which was created by artist Kristen Visbal, will stay at the location for at least a week. However, State Street Global Advisors and McCann New York advertising agency, which helped with the project, are hoping it will remain longer.
Back in 1989, the Charging Bull was also installed in the middle of the night — but without permission — by artist Arturo Di Modica. It was placed in front of the New York Stock Exchange as a symbol of resilience and strength after the stock-market crash two years earlier. People loved the bronze bull so much that the city allowed it to stay, but moved it a few blocks to Bowling Green Park.
