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McCann New York, along with their client, State Street Global Advisors had an idea where they made the word genius an understatement. A night before the start of International Women’s Day, they placed a statue next to the infamous Wall Street Charging Bull in Bowling Green Park in Lower Manhattan. It’s not just any statue—it’s a Fearless Girl standing her ground in front of the bull.
Sculpted by Kristen Visbal, it was SSGA’s campaign to emphasize companies with women in top positions perform better financially. It stands before a plaque which reads, “KNOW THE POWER OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP.”The sculpture is expected to remain there for at least a month. The agency negotiated with the city for it to become part of the art program.
With March coming to a close, the Fearless Girl statues still remains relevant and has served its purpose beyond the intended. It doesn’t only encourages companies to consider putting women on top, but also This campaign purpose is to encourage more than 3,500 companies—the ones that the SSGA invests in on behalf of clients—to increase the number of women they hire in their corporate boards.
“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.” The president, Ron ‘O Hanley, said in a statement.According to an MSCI study, companies with strong female leadership have generated an equity return of 10.1 a year, compared to the 7.4 percent for those that lack women at the top.
“Even though it’s a little girl, her stance is one of determination, forwardness, and being willing to challenge and take on the status quo.”SSGA’s deputy global chief and investment officer, Lori Hennel told the Business Insider about the campaign. It equates to the symbol of the Charging Bull by Arturo Di Modica. While the bull stands for the strength and power of the American people during the ’87 stock market crash, the bronze girl is a symbol for strength and power of women.
