A bronze statue named ‘Fearless Girl’ has popped up in Paternoster Square, and she’s promoting female leadership.
The statue, by Kristen Visbal, was unveiled by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) on Tuesday March 5, and will stand proudly outside the London Stock Exchange until June. The small but mighty girl highlights the importance of female leaders in business, but also the progress that needs to be made. [Header image: @adwealth2015]
‘Fearless Girl’ is an exact replica of New York’s famous statue of the same name. Unveiled just in time for International Women’s Day 2017, the original statue caught everyone’s attention for defiantly staring down Wall Street’s bull.
Now heading to another city’s financial district in time for this year’s International Women’s Day, Fearless Girl will continue to be a symbolic image, and will hopefully inspire and empower the young women who see it.
See also: Millicent Fawcett is the first woman to be honoured with a statue in Parliament Square.
SSGA’s Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer, Lori Heinel, told CNBC that, “It’s important to think about how women can impact society, finance, really everything — and when you think about the centers of power, they are often revolving around finance … so, having the symbol of the Fearless Girl in places that are important for the financial workers globally, is something that we think is critical.”
“It’s also a way to highlight the engagement for companies, in that we really need to have more women on boards, have more women in positions of power and to drive economic empowerment for women.”
You’ll find ‘Fearless Girl’ in Paternoster Square, just a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral.