State Street’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 become less white and male.
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 do not appear in new guidance as of March 2025 from the Boston-based asset manager, however.
Instead State Street wrote that board nominating committees are “best placed” to determine composition.
A State Street representative did not immediately comment.
