Janina Lim – Fourth Estate Contributor
Boston, MA, United States MA – The firm that commissioned the Fearless Girl statue which was faced off against Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull to symbolize the power of women’s leadership in a man’s world, State Street Corporation is set to pay $5 million to settle a dispute on its discriminatory pay against female employees.
State Street has agreed to pay the said amount following a US Department of Labor investigation into the Boston-based financial services firm that installed the bronze statue.
The investigation came up with the conclusion that the firm had paid female executives less in terms of base pay, bonus pay and total compensation as compared with male employees installed in the same position.
Under the agreement, State Street will pay $5 million into a fund for 305 female executives and 15 black executives whome the US Department of Labor found were compensated less than their male counterparts.
The firm, however, denied the allegations of the probe but nevertheless opted to bring the six-year-old matter to a resolution and move forward, a spokeswoman for the company said on Thursday.
State Street said in a statement that it remains “committed to equal pay practices and evaluates on an ongoing basis our internal processes to be sure our compensation, hiring and promotions programs are nondiscriminatory.”
The “Fearless Girl” statue by US artist Kristen Visbal was commissioned by State Street Global Advisors, a division of State Street Corporation, and placed on a traffic island facing Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” statue on March 7.
The work was also interpreted as a symbol for empowering women under the reign of President Donald Trump who victored last year’s elections notwithstanding a viral video of him bragging about groping women.
“Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference,” reads the plaque on her feet.
The Fearless Girl is set to stay and stare down at the charging bull until February 2018.
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