Here’s a simple fact: Year after year, the number of women in corporate leadership positions continues to be disproportionately low.

Here’s another: Research from MSCI revealed that companies with higher percentages of women in leadership roles outperform those that don’t.

The implications are obvious: Women in corporate leadership positions are good for business. This isn’t simply about gender equality; this is about the bottom line.

To allow investors to leverage this fact, State Street Global Advisors developed an ETF that tracks a gender diversity index comprised of corporations with a greater percentage of women in leadership positions.

To commemorate International Women’s Day, we wanted to craft a bold message to draw attention to, and ignite conversation about, just how essential women in leadership positions are. We wanted to alter the course of corporate leadership, not with a gentle nudge but with a formidable push.

And we did. With one Fearless Girl.

On the eve of International Women’s Day, we gave the symbol of corporate America — Wall Street's Charging Bull — a new companion: a bronze statue of a young girl, appropriately named “Fearless Girl.” Fearless Girl was designed to represent the power of women today and tomorrow. Hands on hips, chin high, she stands strong in a place the business community couldn't ignore.