’Fearless Girl’ statue sponsor State Street drops boardroom diversity targets

By Ross Kerber

(Reuters) - State Street (NYSE:STT)’s asset management unit on Friday dropped targets for the number of women and minority directors who should serve on corporate boards, according to new proxy voting guidance posted on its website.

The changes were in line with those of other major asset managers under political pressure, shifts likely to slow the pace at which boardrooms add directors who are not white men.

But the change was striking for State Street, which in March 2017 installed the famous "Fearless Girl" statue in Manhattan’s financial district as part of a campaign to increase gender diversity in business.

Along those lines, the global proxy voting policy of State Street Global Advisors as of March 2024 stated the firm expected boards of companies in major indexes to be 30% female or risk votes against nominating committee members. Larger S&P 500 companies were also expected to have at least one racial or ethnic minority director.

Those targets, however, do not appear in new guidance as of March 2025 from the Boston-based asset manager.

Instead State Street wrote that board nominating committees are "best placed" to determine composition.

In a statement sent by a representative, State Street said that "We annually review our proxy voting and engagement policy to ensure alignment with global protocols and local laws and regulations, guided by our core principles of effective board oversight, disclosure, and shareholder protection and a singular focus on value creation."

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