A 4-foot tall bronze sculpture of a young girl, with her hands firmly on her hips, was installed at about 3 a.m. Tuesday, just a few feet north of the iconic bull sculpture — as though she’s staring it down.
The “Fearless Girl” is part of a campaign from State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), one of the world’s largest asset managers, to draw attention to the need for more female leaders in business, specifically calling for more women on company boards.
A small plaque at the sculpture’s feet reads: “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”
The statute’s installation was timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, which was March 8, SSGA said in a statement.
“Wall Street is a traditionally male environment and (the statue) says, ‘Hey, we’re here,’” the artist who made the sculpture, Kristen Visbal, told The Wall Street Journal. “To me, it says a woman can be delicate and petite but strong.
“I see it as a piece that every woman can and should relate to,” she continued. “The bull is symbolic of every issue coming down the pike, that they can stand firm and hold their ground and deal with it.”
The statue will remain at least a week, but may remain longer, according to Adweek.
Just today a Five-year-old Abrianna Tobar Almonte visited the new bronze statue on Wednesday, because she had the day off from school.
Abrianna’s mother, Alexandra Almonte, asked her daughter to stand next to the statue for a picture.
“By the time I got my camera out, the news photographers were telling her what to do,” Almonte said.
Amid the photo frenzy Abrianna caused, Almonte realized she didn’t have a decent picture of her daughter with the statue. Before they left, she told Abrianna to “look at the statue and do what she’s doing,” prompting people to start photographing the 5-year-old again.
“I saw a young girl feeling so confident mirroring the statue and I felt this is everything that statue represented, and especially what the women’s strike represents,” said photographer Amanda Marmor.
While the symbolism of a little girl wearing red on International Women’s Day is powerful, it wasn’t a deliberate statement.
Abrianna loves to wear brightly colored costumes of cartoon characters and superheroes to play with her 8-year-old brother, who has autism. “It’s her own way of connecting with him,” Almonte said.
Almonte said it’s hard to hold Abrianna’s attention for a long time, but she tried to explain what the statue represents and what International Women’s Day means.
“She asked why was the statue there, if she was a superhero like her and if she had any superpowers,” Almonte said. “I told her [the statue’s] superpower was representing all of us.”
Even Almonte didn’t quite understand why everyone took her daughter’s photo, until they started popping out on social media.
“Now that I see the pictures I get it. It’s a very powerful message,” Almonte said.
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