The New York Stock Exchange Has Its First Woman President. Is She on a Glass Cliff?

In April, officials in New York City decided to move the “Fearless Girl,” the statue commissioned by a financial firm to stare down the Charging Bull of Wall Street, in what became a symbol of female grit, to a spot outside the New York Stock Exchange. Just over a month later, the NYSE announced that Stacey Cunningham, the exchange’s chief operating officer, will soon become its president—the first time in the exchange’s 226-year history that it will be run by a woman.

The symmetry of it all is delightful to the many voices calling for greater gender equity, especially in an industry which has remained insular and largely male dominated. While the financial industry boasts a of women in senior leadership positions, 29 percent, than any other sector, those positions often don’t translate to opportunities to helm organizations. The, “Some say they’ve been grabbed, kissed out of the blue, humiliated, and propositioned by colleagues and bosses but have stayed quiet because of cultural and financial forces that are particularly strong in banking.”