Lioness legend Jill Scott: “I want to be a role model to get women into investing”

Lioness legend Jill Scott has got a new project: tackling the gender investment gap.

A new investor herself, she says she wants to inspire other women to start investing.

“I was a role model for girls to get into football. I want to be that woman now, that they can see investing,” she comments.

Scott retired from professional football in 2022, shortly after winning UEFA Euro 2022 with the England women’s team.

She says she retired with no savings, and was “lucky” that she managed to build up new income streams – and start investing.

Scott, who was awarded an MBE in 2020 for her services to women’s football, says she previously didn’t consider investing because she thought you had to have lots of money to invest, or be a banker wearing a suit. “All those investing myths, that was me, I believed them.”

She adds: “There’s a place in investing for me, where I can do just as well as the guys.”

Tackling the gender investment gap

There has long been a divide between the number of men and women investing. Women tend to favour cash ISAs, for example, while men are much more likely to open a stocks and shares ISA.

According to Boring Money, the gender investment gap now stands at £678 billion – about the size of Switzerland’s economy.

Scott has become the face of eToro’s “Loud investing” campaign, aimed at encouraging more women to invest.

While other financial companies are also trying to close the gender investment gap with various initiatives, eToro claims that discussions around women’s lack of confidence to invest can be harmful.

Analysis of more than 80 UK industry reports found that 57% portray women investors in negative or patronising terms, while one in five women say being told they “lack confidence” actively discourages them from investing.

“This constant negative framing is not harmless commentary, it’s damaging”, says Dan Moczulski, UK managing director at eToro. “Role models matter. We need more women front and centre, showing that investing isn’t a closed shop – it’s something they already have the skills to succeed at.”

Multiple studies, including one by Warwick Business School, show that female investors often outperform their male counterparts.

Scott comments: “In football, discipline and patience are everything. You don’t win tournaments overnight, you build towards them over years. It’s the same with investing. The industry has been too quick to focus on what women supposedly lack, when the truth is our approach is a strength.”

For example, women are more likely to take a long-term view, trade less often, and think carefully before making decisions – all behaviours that can contribute to superior investment returns.

Jill Scott’s investing journey

Scott reveals that she was paid just £13,000 when she was first signed on a full-time contract with Manchester City.

“Some of the guys couldn’t believe it, they asked ‘do you mean £13,000 a week?’ But, no, that was my annual salary.”

She went onto play for the club for nine years before retiring, notching up 194 appearances. The midfielder also played for England 161 times, making her the second most-capped England footballer ever.

The 38-year-old says she recently began investing and wants to learn as much as possible, as well as telling her friends and family about it.

“I promise that my investing journey will be very honest, I’m a very transparent person. I will keep people up to date with it, none of it will be filtered.”

She plans to post about her new-found investing knowledge, successes – and the things that don’t go so well – on social media and on her podcast.

Scott reflects that it can be difficult for sportspeople to manage their money: their earnings can suddenly rocket, giving them more wealth than they’ve ever been used to, while their sports careers are often short, meaning they need to have a plan for retirement.

“There are a lot more female footballers getting financial advice now. And although I retired with no savings, and not much in my various pension pots, I was lucky that I managed to get out [and improve my financial position].”

As well as encouraging more women to invest – “I’m even talking to my nieces about it!” – Scott is keen to discuss the lack of financial education in schools.

“Why don’t we get taught this stuff at schools? Tax, investing, mortgages… it would have been so helpful.”

For now, Scott is hoping to tackle the gender investment gap with eToro, and “show women that they already have what it takes” to start their own investing journey.