February 6, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 23 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E140-E141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF CYRUS TARAPOREVALA'S REMARKS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 
  INSTALLATION OF THE ``FEARLESS GIRL STATUE'' AT THE NEW YORK STOCK 
                                EXCHANGE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 6, 2019

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to 
recognize and include in the Record remarks made by State Street Global 
Advisors CEO, Cyrus Taraporevala, at the unveiling of the ``Fearless 
Girl'' statue at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 10, 
2018. The ``Fearless Girl'' was commissioned by State Street to draw 
attention to the small number or women in leadership positions on Wall 
Street. She was moved from her original location opposite the 
``Charging Bull'' statue near Bowling Green to a permanent place in 
front of NYSE:

  ``Thank you Lori. It is so exciting to be here to unveil Fearless 
Girl at her new home where she will have an even bigger stage to make 
an even bigger impact.
  ``I want to thank everyone who helped make this day happen: Mayor de 
Blasio and his team; the Department of Transportation; the Landmarks 
Preservation Commission; the New York Stock Exchange, in particular 
Betty Liu and the Exchange president Stacey Cunningham--who are here 
today; Congresswoman Maloney; the thousands of women in leadership; 
and, the millions of Fearless Girl fans worldwide.
  ``Throughout this campaign, even today, many people have asked: Why 
is State Street Global Advisors--one of the largest investment managers 
in the world--so focused on an issue like gender diversity? l'd like to 
explain.
  ``Our clients are businesses and organizations serving millions of 
people across the globe. They're pension plans helping to fund a 
teacher or policeman's retirement. They're foundations investing in 
scientific and environmental breakthroughs. And advisors helping moms 
and dads figure out how to make the numbers add up so they can pay for 
their children's college education. Our goal is to ensure the 
investments we manage on their behalf perform for the long-term.
  ``Now, on our active management side of the business--where portfolio 
managers pick the stocks they want to invest in--if they don't like a 
company or the way it is behaving, it's quite simple: they sell the 
stock. On the index side, our portfolio managers don't have that 
luxury. They just can't sell the stock. As long as that company is in 
the index we have to hold the stock. We can't give our clients the 
returns of the S&P 499, when they expect the S&P 500. That's not how it 
works.
  ``That means we actually have to engage those companies with our 
voice and vote as a large shareholder--to push them to take seriously 
the issues we believe are important to their long-term sustainability, 
issues like climate change or cybersecurity. And, yes, gender 
diversity.
  ``There is a growing body of data that suggests cognitive diversity 
contributes to better decision-making at the board level. These studies 
show that gender-diverse boards pay more attention to risk management, 
and are less inclined toward cronyism and groupthink. In other words, 
all other things being equal, these companies tend to be better 
managed. So, for us, advocating for gender diversity is not part of 
some kind of political agenda. It's part of our long-term performance 
agenda. This is about value, not values.
  ``Yet in early 2017, one in four companies in the Russell 3000--the 
3,000 largest public companies in the U.S.--still didn't have a single 
woman on their board. Not one, despite evidence that shows it is in 
their best long-term interest.
  ``Then, Fearless Girl came along--a symbol of our efforts to get more 
women on corporate boards. Since her installation, 301 of the companies 
identified as having no women at all on their boards have added a 
female director. And another 28 have committed to doing so. In 
addition, many other investment managers and institutions have stepped 
forward to advocate for greater gender diversity on boards as well.
  ``All told, $15 trillion in total shareholder assets now publicly 
back greater gender diversity on boards. And while there's still a lot 
more work to do, the number of companies in the Russell 3000 without a 
female board director has now actually dropped by a third. It's gone 
from 24% to 16%.
  ``But for me, there's also something deeply personal about Fearless 
Girl's new location here at the New York Stock Exchange. Nearly 30 
years ago I was fortunate to have a summer internship right here at the 
Exchange. I worked as a specialist on the floor of the Exchange in 
1989. It was the first job in America for this immigrant. Every day I 
would grab my lunch and sit on those steps at the Federal Building, 
next to George Washington's statue, and I'd look at that powerful 
symbol of capitalism that the New York Stock Exchange facade 
represents.
  ``Now Fearless Girl will be part of that powerful image to inspire 
the next summer intern, the next public leader, and the next business 
leader of one of the companies traded on this Exchange.
  ``That's why I believe Fearless Girl is not only reinventing the way 
we invest, she is also changing the way we see the world.
  ``Once again a big thank you to everyone who made this possible.''

  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Cyrus 
Taraporevala's remarks and the inspiring message of the ``Fearless 
Girl'' statue.

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