As morning breaks on International Women’s Day and the “Day Without A Woman Strike,” a sculpture of a young girl has appeared in front of the New York Stock Exchange staring down the iconic “Charging Bull”.
People working in the financial district were welcomed by a powerful symbol of the power of women yesterday morning.
Opposite the charging bull outside the New York Stock Exchange on wall street stands a fearless girl. Like the bull she is facing off against, the statue appears to be made of bronze. She is said to be around 10 years old, wearing a dress and ponytails, and she stands defiant of the beast she is fearlessly staring at with her hands at her hips and her head held high.
The epic face-off is meant to to highlight the pay disparity between men and women in the financial industry, and the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards
The statue was created by Kristen Visbal and placed opposite the bull by the Wall street investment firm State Street Global Advisors. The firms CEO, Ron O’Hanley, said in a statement picked up by rawstory:
“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 circular plaque at her feet reads, “KNOW THE POWER OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP/SHE MAKES A DIFFERENCE.”
We still don’t know how long the piece is supposed to stay in place, but if it were up to us, it would stay there forever.
The video below shows the process of how the statue was made:
Here’s to a bullish future for all the brave girls out there. #fearlessgirl
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Featured image source [loganhasson Instagram]