Lioness legend Jill Scott: "I want to encourage women to invest by being an example"

Lioness Jill Scott says she hopes to inspire women to invest in the same way she encouraged girls to play football

She also wonders why schools don't teach subjects like mortgages, taxes, and investing.

The gender investment gap is the focus of Lioness legend Jill Scott's latest project.

Having recently begun investing, she says she hopes to encourage other women to do the same.

"I served as an inspiration for girls who wanted to play football. Now that they can see me investing, I want to be that woman," she says.

Soon after winning UEFA Euro 2022 with the England women's team, Scott announced her retirement from professional football in 2022.

Despite having no savings when she retired, she claims she was "lucky" to have established new sources of income and begun investing.

According to Scott, who received an MBE in 2020 for her contributions to women's football, she had never given investing much thought before because she believed that one needed to be wealthy or a banker in a suit to do so. "I was the person who believed all of those investing myths.

There is a place in investing where I can perform on par with the guys, she continues.

Closing the gender investment gap.

The proportion of men who invest has long been lower than that of women. For instance, women typically prefer cash ISAs, whereas men are far more likely to open an ISA for stocks and shares.

About the size of Switzerland's economy, the gender investment gap currently stands at 678 billion, according to Boring Money.

In an effort to encourage more women to invest, Scott has taken on the role of spokesperson for eToros' "Loud investing" campaign.

Discussions about women's lack of confidence to invest can be damaging, according to eToro, even though other financial firms are attempting to close the gender investment gap with various initiatives.

One in five women say that being told they "lack confidence" actively deters them from investing, and 57 percent of the more than 80 UK industry reports depict female investors in a negative or condescending light.

According to Dan Moczulski, UK managing director at eToro, "this continuous negative framing is not harmless commentary, it's damaging." "Role models are important. More women in leadership roles are needed to demonstrate that investing is not a closed shop and that they are capable of succeeding at it.

Several studies demonstrate that female investors frequently outperform their male counterparts, including one conducted by Warwick Business School.

"Patience and discipline are crucial in football," says Scott. You must develop over years in order to win tournaments. This also applies to investing. When women's approach is actually a strength, the industry has been too quick to focus on what we supposedly lack.

For instance, women are more likely to trade less frequently, have a longer-term perspective, and consider their options carefully before actingall of which can result in higher investment returns.

Jill Scott's path to investing.

Scott discloses that when she initially signed a full-time contract with Manchester City, she was only paid £13,000.

Some of the guys were shocked and asked if I meant £13,000 per week, but I explained that it was actually my yearly salary.

She made 194 appearances during her nine years of playing for the team before retiring. In addition, the midfielder made 161 appearances for England, ranking second in all-time England football caps.

The 38-year-old claims she just started investing and wants to learn as much as she can about it in addition to sharing it with her loved ones.

I'm a very open person, so I swear that my investing journey will be completely honest. I'll keep everyone informed; nothing will be filtered.

She intends to share on social media and through her podcast her newly acquired knowledge of investing, as well as her successes and failures.

According to Scott, athletes may find it challenging to handle their finances because their salaries can increase dramatically, leaving them with more money than they have ever had before, and their playing careers are frequently brief, necessitating a retirement plan.

"A growing number of female football players are now receiving financial guidance. Even though I had little in my various pension pots and no savings when I retired, I was fortunate to be able to get out and improve my financial situation.

Scott is eager to talk about the dearth of financial education in schools and is urging more women to invest, saying, "I'm even talking to my nieces about it!".

"Teaching us about taxes, investing, and mortgages in schools would have been very beneficial.

With eToro, Scott hopes to address the gender investment gap and "show women that they already have what it takes" to begin investing on their own.