Yesterday a bronze statue of a fearless, defiant little girl appeared facing off against the iconic charging bull on Wall Street.
State Street Global Advisors, the world's third largest asset manager, installed the statue as part of its new campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards. The statue is unauthorized, just as the Bull was, but when people fell in love with it it was allowed to remain.
The group rolled out the campaign on International Women's Day. "The money manager said it would vote against boards if a company failed to take steps to increase its number of members who are women. State Street plans to send a letter to 3,500 companies on Tuesday asking the companies to act." The group cited gender diversity as a way to improve company performance and increase shareholder value. Read more and watch the launch video below: