People in the United States marked International Women’s Day in different ways.
Some went on strike and stayed home from work. Others wore the color red.
One investment group in New York City, however, celebrated in a different way. It put up a symbolic statue on Wall Street, the city’s financial center.
The statue is of a small, young girl. She is standing in a strong, confident, and defiant way. Her hands are on her hips. And, she is standing just across from a huge and well-known statue of a bull.
The work of art is called “The Fearless Girl.”
The group State Street Global Advisors put up the statue. Anne McNally is with the group. She told Reuters news agency that “The Fearless Girl” helps bring attention to the small number of women in high positions on Wall Street, as well as the lower wages that women working in finance receive. The group wants that to change, she says.
“A lot of people talk about gender diversity, but we really felt we had to take it to a broader level,” she said.
Under the new statue are the words, “Know the power of women in leadership. She makes a difference.”
Artist Kristen Visbal created “The Fearless Girl.” It was put up very early Tuesday. Many people were surprised to see it the next morning.
Tourists and locals have been celebrating Wall Street’s “Fearless Girl” on social media. It became a trending topic on Wednesday.
One person wrote on Twitter, “The Wall Street bull may have met his match!“
This expression means that someone has found someone else that is equal to them in strength or ability.
Another person tweeted, "Hope it becomes a permanent fixture.”
For now, New York City officials are permitting the “Fearless Girl” to remain for one week. But, she could be around for a lot longer.
The Wall Street bull statue, for example, was put up in 1989. Italian artist Arturo Di Modica created it. It was meant to show America’s strength and power following the 1987 stock-market crash.
Artists installed the bull statue without the permission of the city. It, too, was put in place very early in the morning. But it was soon removed.
However, the public demanded that the bull be permitted to remain. So it soon received a permanent home.
Today, the bull statue is a Wall Street icon. Millions of tourists stop by to see the bull every year.
And if she remains, “The Fearless Girl” could become a Wall Street icon, too.
Words in This Story
symbolic - adj. expressing or representing an idea or quality without using words
confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
defiant - adj. refusing to obey something or someone
bull - n. an adult male animal of the ox and cow family
gender - n. the state of being male or female
diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization
broad - adj. including or involving many things or people : wide in range or amount
fixture - n. a person or thing that has been part of something or involved in something for a long time
install - v. to make (a machine, a service, etc.) ready to be used in a certain place
icon - n. a widely known symbol