State Street Global Advisors CEO Ron O'Hanley told CNBC on Wednesday the financial services firm behind Wall Street's "Fearless Girl" statue has "not been perfect" but is "committed to equal pay for equal work."
O'Hanley was responding to a question about the company's sponsorship of the statue, which is aimed at empowering women, and its $5 million settlement over unequal pay allegations from 305 female workers.
The settlement, disclosed earlier this month, was "related to something that happened in 2010 and 2011," O'Hanley told "Squawk Box" in an interview on the sidelines of a Saudi investor summit in Riyadh.
But he added, "I would be the first to say that we are not perfect. We are committed to equal pay for equal work. And we stand by that."
"We recognize we haven't been perfect. We paid the fine and we're moving on," he said. "I think if you look at us now, there is no discrimination based on that."
The bronze "Fearless Girl" statue of a child staring down the Wall Street's "Charging Bull" was installed in March.
State Street Global Advisors, a unit of the State Street Corp. holding company, said it put up the statue on the eve of International Women's Day to celebrate "the power of women in leadership, and the potential of the next generation of women leaders."
While "Fearless Girl" has generally been well received, the sculptor of "Charging Bull" called it an insult to his statue. Others denounced "Fearless Girl" as "corporate feminism" and a "marketing coup."
