Jill Scott and Gary Neville swap social media accounts to highlight online sexism

'Anyone can be a fan of sport, regardless of gender and it’s time to remember this'

As part of a Heineken social experiment entitled, ‘The Social Swap’, the two joined together to address the issues of gender bias when it comes to women expressing their opinions about football on social media.

Scott and Neville swapped their social accounts for five days to compare and contrast the reactions they would get on social media to share their genuine views on games and news from around the footballing world.

The experiment was conducted as a reminder of the uglier side of football, with Jill's account receiving five times more sexist responses in comparison to Gary's when sharing similar points of view.

While there are slow improvements, Scott admitted that more needs to be done to tackle online sexism. She said: "Attitudes have definitely changed, but there's no doubt that female fans, pundits and players still get a lot more online negativity than men due to gender bias. You develop a thick skin – but we shouldn’t have to.

"Some people have probably been left a little red-faced by this experiment but hopefully it's reminded everyone of the need to kick gender bias out of the game for good. Anyone can be a fan of sport, regardless of gender and it’s time to remember this."

Neville added that he was surprised at the level of abuse he received when posting from Scott's social media accounts.

"The heated debates and rivalries are what makes football so exhilarating. But when negativity is linked to gender, this goes too far, especially from behind a screen," the former England international said.

"By putting myself in Jill’s shoes and seeing the reaction, I have seen first-hand the uglier side of this sport that I love and want to make it clear that football is for everyone. On the pitch and online, we should treat each other with respect no matter our gender, race, sexuality or what colour shirt we’re wearing."

As well as using 'The Social Swap’ to highlight the issue of gender bias when it comes to women sharing their opinions about football on social media, Heineken are also using the power of AI to help fans blow the whistle on online sexist toxicity and ensure all fans can freely share their opinions without the fear of abuse. 

As part of their new partnership with Arwen, a limited number of football supporters will be granted free access to its AI-powered online moderation tool. The Arwen tool lets users filter negativity from their social media feeds by hiding any unwanted or offensive comments and spam. 

‘The Social Swap’ is part of a series of campaigns from Heineken’s ‘Cheers To All Fans’ UEFA sponsorship platform, which aims to level the playing field for all fans by tackling the issues that prevent them from having an enjoyable, inclusive experience.

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