Iconic bull statue in lower Manhattan

“And though she be but little, she is fierce”, comes to mind when viewing the “Fearless Girl”, placed in front of Wall Street’s famous charging bull in New York City.

The bull, designed by Italian-born artist Arturo Di Modica, was initially taken down from its spot by the New York Stock Exchange but was placed permanently on Broadway. The girl has her hands on her hips and appears to be defiantly staring down the animal. State Street told Business Insider’s Rachael Levy that the statue aims to draw attention to the need for gender diversity in the workplace.

The statue was created by artist Kristen Visbal. “We’re not going to always automatically vote against the company, but we want to make sure there are tangible, concrete measures they are taking”, he said.

Also, one-fourth of Russell 300 companies have no women on their boards. A MSCI (aka Morgan Stanley Capital International) study says that companies with “strong female leadership” generate a 10.1% return on equity per year, which is up from 7.4% for those without women at the top, according to AdWeek.

State Street’s Chief Investment Officer, Lori Heinel said that as they are a large index provider, they have to be invested in companies and the best thing they can do is try to improve their performance as a long term capital provider. The asset manager is calling on more than 3,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $30 trillion through this initiative.

A statue of a young girl has been added to the sidewalk where the iconic bull was installed in 1989.

According to the release, Fearless Girl was modeled and cast in two months, a process which typically takes six to eight months. Captured by NYDN staff photographer Jefferson Siegel.

State Street said in a tweet: “We wanted to highlight the power of women in leadership”. Yet, I’m often struck by the lack of women in attendance, with men generally outnumbering women by a wide margin.

Most famously, the bull was corralled for years after Occupy Wall Street protestors-denouncing the financial industry’s influence and greed-settled into nearby Zuccotti Park in 2011.

The statue will remain in its place for at least a week.