Etoro Partners with Jill Scott MBE

Financial services’ obsession with ‘confidence gap’ is putting women off investing, warns eToro

• 57% of industry reports talk about women and their investing confidence in negative, and often patronising terms
• 1 in 5 women say being told they ‘lack confidence’ puts them off investing
• Multiple studies show female investors actually outperform men
• eToro teams up with Lionesses legend Jill Scott MBE to inspire more women to invest, by championing the shared qualities of discipline and long-term focus that drive success in both elite sport and investing

23 October 2025 – For years, the financial services industry has fallen back on one lazy explanation for the gender investment gap: that women ‘lack confidence’. New research from eToro’s Loud Investing campaign shows that this narrative doesn’t just miss the point, it actively discourages women from investing.

An analysis of more than 80 UK reports and campaigns on women and investing, published by the financial services industry between 2020 and 20251, reveals how entrenched this narrative has become. In more than half (57%), women’s confidence in investing was portrayed in negative and often patronising terms. Reports leaned on the same cliches, describing women as ‘too nervous to invest’, ‘unsure where to start’, or ‘too scared of losing money’. Only one in five (21%) took a different approach, acknowledging that what’s often dismissed as a ‘lack of confidence’ isn’t a weakness, but a strength, and highlighting strengths such as patience, discipline and long-term focus.

Telling women they ‘lack confidence’ discourages investing

The problem is that repeating this kind of language has real-world consequences. To test the impact, eToro partnered with Appinio to survey 2,000 UK women2, split into groups and shown the kinds of headlines the financial industry regularly uses. When women were told they ‘lack confidence’, one in five (19%) said it put them off investing altogether. Almost a quarter (23%) said it made them feel patronised. 17% said it left them less motivated to invest.

“This constant negative framing is not harmless commentary, it’s damaging”, said Dan Moczulski, UK Managing Director at eToro. “You could argue it’s an unintentional act of collective self-harm by the very industry that claims to want to support women and close the gender investment gap. By recycling lazy stereotypes, we’re creating barriers instead of breaking them down. If the only people women see talking about investing are men in suits, it’s no wonder they feel the conversation isn’t for them. 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.”

The stereotype also misses the point. Multiple studies, including Warwick Business School3, show that women investors outperform men by nearly 2% a year. Their so-called ‘lack of confidence’ is part of the reason why. It leads women to take a long-term view, trade less often, and think carefully before making decisions – all behaviours that contribute to superior returns.

“It’s time the industry stopped telling women they’re missing some secret ‘confidence ingredient’,” added Moczulski. “We don’t need women to invest like men; we need them to invest like themselves. What really sets them apart is a natural reluctance to be overconfident. Asking questions, weighing options, avoiding unnecessary risks aren’t weaknesses, but superpowers. And they’re exactly why women often deliver better returns than men.”

Flipping the script

The research explored how women respond when these strengths are celebrated. When women were shown the headline ‘Women investors outperform men by 4%’, their reaction shifted. 44% said it increased their motivation to invest, and among those who don’t currently invest, a quarter (26%) said they wanted to learn more about how to invest.

Celebrating women’s capabilities can’t just stop at the way the industry talks to women. It also needs to extend to representation. According to eToro’s research, 41% of women say they don’t relate to those who talk publicly about investing. More than half (53%) say it’s mostly men, and 54% say it’s mostly people who work in finance.

Dr Ylva Baeckström, Senior Lecturer in Finance, King’s Business School, said: “Branding women as underconfident undermines women’s excellent investment abilities. Negative gender stereotypes are both powerful and destructive, contributing to the gender investment gap. Financial services and societal players, not women, need to change their narratives and invest in women.”

Lioness Legend Jill Scott joins Loud Investing
Figures from Boring Money, published in partnership with eToro, have revealed that the gender investment gap now stands at £678 billion – about the size of Switzerland’s economy.4 That’s the gap Loud Investing was set up to tackle and eToro is teaming up with Jill Scott MBE, Lionesses legend, as the face of Loud Investing. Jill knows what it takes to succeed: discipline, patience and consistency – the very same qualities that make women strong investors.

Jill Scott MBE, former Lioness and eToro ambassador, said: “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. I’m proud to work with eToro to show women that they already have what it takes.”