The bronze statue, titled The Fearless Girl, was erected in the dark of the night on the eve of International Women’s Day 2018.  It is in the shape of a young girl in a defiant pose directly facing the iconic Charging Bull in Wall Street, New York. The Charging Bull has stood in the financial district of Wall Street for 28 years and symbolizes aggressive financial freedom and prosperity, but what does The Fearless Girl stand for and what message does she want to send to the world?

Placing the girl, with hands on hips and head held high, in front of the massive bull was a controversial move intended to highlight the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards and the pay gap of women working in financial services.

Diversity is not just about the percentage of women in senior management, executive and board roles – it’s about support and acceptance of all individuals based on skills, experience and contribution regardless of race, religion and gender identity.

“It is all well and good to talk about diversity, but sometimes we need to ask ourselves – what have we done to take responsibility for it?” says Derek Cronin, Partner and Founder of Cronin Litigation who will be one of our debaters. “We have come a long way, particularly over the last 5 years or so, but there is still more to be done”.

Inspired by this symbol of action and courage, the next Women of Influence event will focus on diversity.  The Annual Great Debate will see 6 debaters argue the topic of whether we have come far enough to allow anyone to be a leader.

The Women of Influence Annual Great Debate is always a sell-out and guaranteed to be entertaining and a little controversial.

On the morning of Thursday 14 June – guests will enjoy breakfast at RACV Royal Pines Resort and be entertained as Radio personality Moyra Major hosts the for and against arguments for the topic:

Will a child born today have an equal chance to be a leader of tomorrow – regardless of gender, religion, race, sexuality, disability or gender identity?