Fearless Girl statue creation of Lewes sculptor

The iconic bull statue on Wall Street may have met his match, and she's a bronze model of a girl, in a billowing dress, high-top sneakers and a ponytail.

Fearless Girl is the creation of Lewes artist Kristen Visbal.

Visbal has strong connections to the Delmarva Peninsula. She received a bachelor of arts degree from Salisbury University in Maryland and apprenticed under Virginia Eastern Shore wildlife sculpture William Turner. She opened her studio in Lewes in 1998.

"The once male dominated environment of Wall Street needs to recognize the strength in women – and her place within the financial community," Visbal wrote in a press release. “All women should relate to this work. It should inspire the young to dream as if anything were possible and simultaneously encourage today’s working woman to hold her ground, no matter what challenges may come barreling down the pike. ... This is a piece of work all women of any age, shape, color or creed can relate to, a work which reminds us today’s working woman is here to stay and has taken her place in the nation’s financial district."

The sculpture was installed early Tuesday morning on the eve of International Women's Day.

Boston-based, State Street Global Advisors, an asset management company, commissioned the statue and had it placed in front of Manhattan’s iconic charging bull. The goal: to highlight a lack of gender diversity and equality in the workplace.

State Street, in a statement, said that the statue is part of its call on the more than 3,500 companies that benefit from its clients' investments to make sure their governing boards are diverse.

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“A key contributor to effective independent board leadership is diversity of thought, which requires directors with different skills, backgrounds and expertise,’’ Ron O’Hanley, State Street Global Advisors' chief executive officer, said in a statement. “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.”

The bronze sculpture, cast at the New Arts Foundry of Baltimore, was the result of two sketches, nine revisions and multiple conference calls.

Fearless Girl will be on display for one year in New York City.

This story includes information from USA TODAY reporter Mary Bowerman.