MOVING ON UP
FEARLESS GIRL TAKES A STAND AT HER NEW LOCATION ACROSS FROM THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.
NEW YORK • The Fearless Girl is making her stand outside the very temple of American capitalism.
The hands-on-her-hips statue that spent most of the past two years staring down Wall Street’s Charging Bull sculpture, becoming a spunky symbol of feminine empowerment, was unveiled Monday at her new permanent home in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
“We’re honoured to welcome Fearless Girl to the very spot that has captured the minds of business leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs,” Betty Liu, executive vice-chair of the stock exchange, said at a ceremony to reintroduce the fourfoot statue. “You’re among friends here at the New York Stock Exchange.”
The statue was commissioned by Boston-based investment fund State Street Global Advisors as a way to push for more women on corporate boards.
It was originally positioned across from the Charging Bull on a traffic island near the tip of Manhattan, but was removed last month in part because the admiring crowds around the two sculptures were creating a hazard.
The bull will eventually rejoin Fearless Girl near the stock exchange, but no date for the move has been given.
State Street CEO Cyrus Taraporevala said companies with female directors on their boards tend to be better managed.
“So for us advocating for gender diversity is not some part of a political agenda. It’s about our long-term performance agenda. This is about value, not values,” he said.
Taraporevala said 301 companies that State Street identified as having no women on their boards have added at least one since Fearless Girl made her debut in March 2017.
The statue was originally intended as a temporary display but quickly gained a fan base among tourists and locals who lined up to pose for photos with her.
“She really captivated all New Yorkers,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat. “New Yorkers really did not want to see her go.”
Now, Maloney said, “instead of staring down the bull, she’s going to be staring down all of business right here in the centre and capital of business for America here in New York City.”