The statue of the "Fearless Girl" has been moved to her new home in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
Her reinstallation was unveiled Monday in a premarket ceremony attended by top executives of the NYSE and State Street Global Advisors.
The sculpture, sponsored by SSGA, had been staring face to face with Wall Street's iconic "Charging Bull" statue in Bowling Green park since March 2017. It was removed last month after complaints that it had distracted from the bull. The original spot bears only a plaque with the outline of footprints. Visitors are encouraged to "stand for her" there.
"Fearless Girl was initially intended to stay in New York for just seven days, but earned a place in people's hearts. And in doing so, she has earned the opportunity to extend her stay," Lori Heinel, SSGA's deputy global chief information officer, said at the unveiling ceremony.
State Street commissioned the statue to call attention to the role of women in corporate America and its "gender diversity index" fund.
More than 300 companies responded to the firm's call by adding a female director and another 28 have committed to do so since the introduction of Fearless Girl in 2017, SSGA's president and CEO Cyrus Taraporevala said at the event.
"There's a lot more work to be done, but the number of companies in the Russell 3000 without a female director have actually dropped by one third, down from 24 percent to 16 percent," said Taraporevala.
The piece was created by Kristen Visbal and installed in March 2017 on the same plaza as Arturo Di Modica's "Charging Bull" bronze sculpture to celebrate "International Women's Day."
