State Street Global Advisors has brought its diversity campaign to London with a new statue in Paternoster Square by St Paul’s Cathedral.
The US financial services company launched its Fearless Girl campaign in 2017 on the eve of International Women’s Day, with a bronze ponytailed girl facing down the longstanding bull of New York’s financial district. The initiative was part of a move to encourage companies to put women on their boards.
Since the launch, 445 companies of the 1265 identified by State Street have responded to the call to action by either adding a female director or committing to do so. Now the statue has come to London, building upon the City of London Corporation’s continuing efforts to increase the recognition of women in the City’s public realm.
The company has also announced starting in 2020 in the US, UK and Australian markets, and in 2021 in Japan, Canada and Continental Europe, State Street Global Advisors will vote against the entire slate of board members on the nominating committee if a company does not have at least one woman on its board, and has not engaged in successful dialogue on State Street Global Advisors’ board gender diversity programme for three consecutive years.
David Schwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group, said: ”We are delighted to welcome Fearless Girl not only to the City of London, but to our home at Paternoster Square. The London Stock Exchange Group fully supports her mission of raising awareness of the importance of diversity on boards and within senior corporate leadership.”
