Commissioned by State Street and only ever intended to be temporary, her popularity has attracted admirers and visitors from all over the globe. Rather than “staring down the bull” as she has done since International Women’s Day 2017, she has been positioned to stare down all of business.
At the unveiling ceremony overnight, Betty Liu, executive vice chairman of the stock exchange, said the statue is “among friends here at the New York Stock Exchange.”
She added that the statue represents, “potential, progress and hope, but also all of the women who have fought for equality before us.”
She is expected to be joined by the Charging Bull, although no date has been given for the move. The two have been attracting significant attention with the large crowds causing traffic hazards. If Bull does join Fearless Girl, she can this time claim the title of being there first.
Fearless Girl was commissioned by State Street, which says it advocates for gender diversity not as a political agenda, but rather as a long-term performance agenda. It’s CEO Cyrus Taraporevala said companies with female board directors tend to be better managed. AP reports that 301 companies that State Street identified as having no female board directors have added at least one since March 2017, when Fearless Girl arrived.
The ceremony was attended by around 200 people who celebrated the 1.2 metre bronze statue with the famous hands-on-hips power stance, and windswept ponytail. It was created by artist Kristen Visbal.
“She is bold and self-confident and hopeful,” said Democrat congresswoman Carolyn Maloney describing during the ceremony. “She says in one image all that advocates can say in pages and pages of arguments and statistics.”