State Street Global Advisors’ “Fearless Girl” returned to make another statement for International Women’s Day. Marking the four-year-anniversary of her debut on Wall Street, she now appears in a new setting, surrounded by 400 glass shards meant to represent the shattering of the “glass ceiling” that has impeded women from rising in the ranks of their respective professions. 

The installation, again conceived out of McCann, celebrates the landmark successes of women over the last few years, including those who now sit on the boards of the world’s largest companies, all the way to Vice President Kamala, who now occupies the second highest office in the U.S. At the same time, a placard on the installation reads, “Today’s broken ceilings are tomorrow’s stepping stones," acknowledging that the world still has a long way when it comes to social equity for women. 

“On the 4th year anniversary of our Fearless Girl campaign, we wanted to find an optimistic and visually emotive way to celebrate the major progress since 2017, while acknowledging the work still to be done,” said Stephen Tisdalle, State Street Global Advisors’ chief marketing officer. “We’ve leveraged the idea of ‘breaking glass ceilings’ to create this dramatic representation around the 'Fearless Girl' statue of how women continue to break through glass ceilings beyond the board room, in senior leadership roles, especially within the past year. “ 

The piece features the original “Fearless Girl” statue by Kristen Visbal, and Merica May Jensen of OBJ Design and glass specialist Sophie Pennetier crafted its new surroundings. 

Sophy Holland was behind the camera for photography, and The Makers directed the film promoting the effort.

This year’s IWD push is just the famed statue's latest “outing." She also appeared in State Street Global Advisors’ tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for which she wore a lace collar, and in a coronavirus safety message, in which she donned a mask.