State Street Global Advisors Reports Latest Impact Numbers Including 445 Companies Adding Women to their Boards in two years.
March 8, 2017, Fearless Girl ignited a global conversation about the power of women in leadership and inspired companies around the world to add women to their boards. Now, we’re bringing the Fearless Girl campaign to London to continue expanding the reach of her message. Learn more about how Fearless Girl is reinventing investing.
“The London Stock Exchange Group fully supports her mission of raising awareness of the importance of diversity on boards and within senior corporate leadership.”
BOSTON & LONDON, 5 March 2019 – State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), has brought its Fearless Girl campaign to London with a new statue in Paternoster Square, against the backdrop of St Paul’s Cathedral. The firm also announced new global diversity impact numbers on the campaign’s second anniversary.
Since first launching the Fearless Girl campaign in 2017 on the eve of International Women’s Day, 445 companies of the 1,265 identified by State Street Global Advisors have responded to the call to action by either adding a female director or committing to do so.
“We are delighted to bring this impactful campaign to London and continue to take a stand for the important issues of gender diversity at the board and senior leadership level,” said Lori Heinel, deputy global Chief Investment Officer for State Street Global Advisors. “Studies have shown that companies with greater gender diversity at the senior leadership levels generate better returns than their peers. That drives our conviction to continue our engagement and voting efforts as we look to make further progress on this important topic.”
“We are delighted to welcome Fearless Girl to the City. This builds upon the City of London Corporation’s continuing efforts to increase the recognition of women in the City’s public realm,” said Catherine McGuinness, chair of the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation. “I hope that Fearless Girl will serve as a reminder of the progress we have made and the progress we still need to make.”
”We are delighted to welcome Fearless Girl not only to the City of London but to our home at Paternoster Square,” said David Schwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group. “The London Stock Exchange Group fully supports her mission of raising awareness of the importance of diversity on boards and within senior corporate leadership.”
State Street Global Advisors also announced today new impact numbers demonstrating continued progress for the firm’s gender diversity asset stewardship programs in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, and Continental Europe. Concluding its second year, 423 companies identified by State Street Global Advisors have now responded to the firm’s call by adding a female director to their previously all-male boards and another 22 have committed to do so.
Starting in 2020 in the US, UK and Australian markets, and in 2021 in Japan, Canada and Continental Europe, State Street Global Advisors will vote against the entire slate of board members on the nominating committee if a company does not have at least one woman on its board, and has not engaged in successful dialogue on State Street Global Advisors’ board gender diversity program for three consecutive years.
As a result of State Street Global Advisors’ Fearless Girl campaign, companies and shareholders worldwide have been inspired to focus on the issue of gender diversity. Highlighting just two examples since the firm last reported impact numbers, it has seen the number of companies adding a female director increase by 57 percent in the UK and 48 percent in the US.
Fearless Girl by the Numbers Worldwide:
Fearless Girl represents one key component of the firm’s broader asset stewardship program. Through that program, the firm engages with corporations to understand a wide range of risks that could impact long-term value and to drive conversation and action around those risks which include climate change, corporate culture, water & waste management and supply chain management.
“Our active stewardship approach is the cornerstone of our ESG offering and impacts every dollar that we manage for clients,” said Heinel. “Industry research demonstrates that ESG factors impact companies’ long-term performance and we are committed to helping our clients understand the risks and opportunities in this rapidly emerging sector.”
For more information on State Street Global Advisors’ asset stewardship efforts and its Fearless Girl campaign, click here.
About State Street Global Advisors
For four decades, State Street Global Advisors has served the world’s governments, institutions, and financial advisors. With a rigorous, risk-aware approach built on research, analysis and market-tested experience, we build from a breadth of active and index strategies to create cost-effective solutions. As stewards, we help portfolio companies see that what is fair for people and sustainable for the planet can deliver long-term performance. And, as pioneers in the index, ETF, and ESG investing, we are always inventing new ways to invest. As a result, we have become the world’s third largest asset manager with nearly US $2.51 trillion* under our care.
* This figure is presented as of December 31, 2018, and includes approximately $32.44 billion of assets with respect to SPDR products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Global Advisors are affiliated.
Tracking Number 2446113.1.1.GBL.PR
Expiration date: 03/31/2020
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Companies identified as not having a single female board member |
Number of companies adding a female director |
Number of companies committing to add a female director |
||||
|
July ‘18 |
YTD ‘19 |
July ‘18 |
YTD ‘19 |
July ‘18 |
YTD ‘19 |
|
|
Global |
1,228 |
1,265 |
301 |
423 |
28 |
22 |
|
Breakdown by region |
||||||
|
US |
816 |
839 |
215 |
318 |
14 |
10 |
|
Japan |
281 |
281 |
40 |
43 |
11 |
11 |
|
Canada |
66 |
66 |
13 |
20 |
0 |
1 |
|
UK |
12 |
12 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
|
Europe |
10 |
11 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
Australia |
45 |
56 |
21 |
26 |
1 |
0 |
New York City Mayor and State Street Global Advisors Announce New Location for Fearless Girl
Following her March 2017 Wall Street Debut, More Than 150 Publicly-Traded Companies Have Added Female Directors to their Boards
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced that Fearless Girl will move to a new location in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the heart of New York’s Financial District.
“We are proud to be home to the Fearless Girl. She is a potent symbol of the need for change at the highest levels of corporate America—and she will become a durable part of our city’s civic life,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This move to a new location will ensure that her message and impact will continue to be heard, as well as improve access for visitors. We’re grateful to State Street for their partnership in keeping the Fearless Girl here in NYC.”
“We thank Mayor Bill de Blasio and the millions of people from New York City and all over the world who have enthusiastically embraced Fearless Girl and her powerful message,” said Cyrus Taraporevala, State Street Global Advisors President and Chief Executive Officer. “Since Fearless Girl’s placement, more than 150 companies have added a female director to their boards. Our hope is that by moving her closer to the NYSE she will encourage more companies to take action and, more broadly, that she will continue to inspire people from all walks of life on the issue of gender diversity.”
State Street Global Advisors will work with the Mayor’s office to relocate Fearless Girl from Bowling Green Park on Broadway Street to her new home facing the NYSE. The move is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.
Commissioned by State Street Global Advisors and created by sculptor Kristen Visbal, Fearless Girl was originally installed on Wall Street on the eve of International Women’s Day 2017, accompanied by a call on the companies in which State Street Global Advisors invests to increase the number of women on their corporate boards. Since that day, State Street Global Advisors has focused on more than 700 publicly-traded companies without a single woman on their board. Among those companies, 152 have since added a female director to their board and another 34 companies have pledged to do so. The firm also voted against more than 500 companies that failed to take action.
To build on Fearless Girl’s impact, State Street Global Advisors is now calling on portfolio companies to create more transparency and share more data about the number of women they have at all levels of management. State Street Global Advisors will begin screening and engaging with companies in the STOXX 600 and FTSE 350 indexes to start, seeking to understand company practices that promote diversity, and has plans to expand this effort in the future.
