Fearless Girl breaks glass ceiling for International Women's Day

Monday, March 8, 2021

Fearless Girl statue pays tribute to International Women's Day

Diana Rocco reports on the new-look statue in Lower Manhattan

LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- New York City's Fearless Girl broke through the glass ceiling Monday as part of the celebration for International Women's Day.

State Street Global Advisors installed a broken glass ceiling surrounding the Fearless Girl statue, as a symbol of the new ground women are breaking every day.

"It's been four years since Fearless Girl -- the statue of a girl standing her ground in the heart of Wall Street -- sent an immediate and unmistakable message to the world's business leaders: that having strong women in leadership matters," President and CEO Cyrus Taraporevala said. "Since that time, countless women across the world have challenged conventional thinking -- whether it is in corporate boardrooms, Fortune 500 companies, or at the highest levels of government from the European Commission to the White House."

Sandra Bookman has more on what it is and why we celebrate it.

Many stopped to take pictures of Wall Street's iconic statue standing in a broken glass ceiling.

"We have a woman vice president, shout out to Kamala but there's a long way to go," New Yorker Hez Hossain said.

Since the launch of the Fearless Girl campaign in 2017, nearly 1,500 companies were identified for not having a woman on their board, and of those, nearly two-thirds have added a woman director, setting a standard for generations to come.

The statue was designed by artist Kristen Visbal and was initially opposite Wall Street's famed Charging Bull. It was supposed to stay for a week, a stunt by the finance company. But it quickly became a beloved feature and has since become a permanent installation outside the New York Stock Exchange.

The organization says the Fearless Girl is standing tall to ask for help for New Yorkers who are struggling because of the COVID pandemic, which has disproportionately affected women in the workplace.

"Despite great progress, this past year we have seen how the pandemic disproportionately affected women who had to leave their jobs to care for their families, as well as the negative impact on racially and ethnically diverse communities," Taraporevala said. "Given the clear implications for businesses, the economy, and society, these challenges remind us why diversity of thinking and problem-solving in leadership is critical to the stewardship of the assets we manage."

Late last year, Fearless Girl donned a red Salvation Army apron to help raise money for New Yorkers in need during the pandemic.