Statue of young girl now staring down Wall Street Bull

NEW YORK (KTRK) -- The famous Wall Street bull was given some company Tuesday after a new sculpture of a young girl was installed to highlight the lack of gender diversity in corporate America.

Named "The Fearless Girl," the sculpture shows a determined young girl facing down the Wall Street landmark.

Sculpted by Kristen Visbal, the installation was arranged by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the investment management giant, which on the eve of International Women's Day called for more representation of women in corporate boardrooms.

"To mark this effort and the power of women in leadership, SSGA has placed a statue of a young girl, representing the future, in the center of the world's financial capital -- right near Wall Street in New York City," read a Tuesday press release.

The money manager said it would vote against boards if a company failed to take steps to increase its number of members who are women. State Street plans to send a letter to 3,500 companies on Tuesday asking the companies to act.

State Street Global Advisors is a nearly $2.5 trillion investor and unit within State Street Corp and the world's third-largest asset manager.

"Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action," said Ron O'Hanley, president and chief executive officer of SSGA, who was quoted in the same release.