Long reads: Why do so many women experience imposter syndrome?

And is it always a bad thing?

Imposter syndrome is, according to some studies, experienced by up to 70% of the population. But is it a syndrome at all? And if it is, how do we best help those who experience it?

Many of the winners of Women in Tech Excellence Awards, or those included in power lists such as the Tech Women Celebration 50 , say that at various times in their careers they have experienced imposter syndrome – the feeling that success attributed to you has been the result of luck or coincidence rather than your own skill or effort and that any moment now you'll be rumbled as the fraud you are.

Vanessa Boachie, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist & Founder of Inside Out Wellbeing will deliver a keynote on overcoming imposter syndrome at the Women and Diversity in Tech Festival in November. Here she defines the feelings that so many people experience:

"Imposter syndrome typically derives from how we perceive ourselves based on our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about who we are, what we do, our abilities, and our sense of worth (self-concept). Our view of ourselves can be influenced by multiple factors such as personal experiences, social interactions, media, and feedback from others.

"When there is a failure to build a culture of inclusion or a lack of support at work, this can create feelings of not belonging and imposter syndrome for some people, while further reinforcing these feelings in others. This is common for many women and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds compared to most of their peers."

It certainly is common. Some studies suggest that imposter syndrome is experienced by up to 70% of the population at some point in their lives.

Many people (especially those who were the first in their family to go onto higher education) will have sat in a room with lots of other people with their inner monologue saying something like this:

"Wow, everyone here seems so together. They're so confident. I could never just stand up there like that and sound so knowledgeable. Why am I here? How do I get myself into these situations? I just want to leave. I could pretend there's an emergency. I need to be invisible in case someone asks me a question and they all find out I'm clueless."

If you felt your heart rate go up a bit reading that, welcome to the imposters club! Although that's probably a bit of an oxymoron because the last thing that people experiencing imposter syndrome usually feel is that they're part of a club. They usually feel the complete opposite, that they don't belong or fit into their workplace. And that's not always because of them.

Is imposter syndrome always bad?

Some would argue that the scenario described above isn't a syndrome at all. It's simply the kind of self-doubt that most people experience at one time or another before having to present in a meeting, or address a big audience or before kicking off a challenging project. Is a leader that has never doubted their ability for a hot minute the kind of leader you want? Isn't self-doubt just the opposite of hubris?

History is overflowing with the consequences of decisions taken by people who could have used a bit of self-doubt. For instance, we all still live with the social, economic and political fallout of the financial crisis of 2007/2008. We would be in a very different world if, at some point, some of the supremely confident financial wizards who built that teetering house of cards which came within hours of triggering the collapse of the entire global financial system had given serious consideration to the question:

Is there any chance you could be wrong about this?"

Jemma Barton is a partner at Rise Beyond, a management consultant specialising in supporting leadership, collaboration and change. She sees a lot of self-doubt, particularly in women leaders.

"Questioning your development, capability and capacity can be good for you," Barton says, "and it supports people to reach higher levels of development than those who never experience it.

"But imposter syndrome becomes a problem when it prevents you from being confident enough to step into the places you really need to go. That's when it can become disabling and really hold you back."

This can lead to individuals stymying their own careers by rejecting opportunities which would challenge them but also provide real growth and development potential. It can also increase the chances of burnout when someone is striving for perfection, or a certain control freakery where someone refuses to delegate or ask for help even if they're feeling holed beneath the water line.

Not only does this damage careers for individuals, it also has a detrimental impact on co-workers, teams and the wider workplace. It certainly doesn't bode well for the healthy, inclusive culture that we all aspire to.

Look at the system not the person

People suffering the lack of confidence and sometimes debilitating anxiety that is so inextricably linked to imposter syndrome should be encouraged to seek help and find ways to boost their self-esteem. But in addition to helping individuals, we also need to look at the system that makes imposter syndrome so common. We also need to look at who doesn't seem to experience it.

There is an increasing body of research showing that women in male-dominated professions, including technology, are much more likely to report feeling like an imposter than those in more balanced industries. A little over three years ago, Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey wrote an article for Harvard Business Review which went viral imploring employers to "Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome".

The writers argued that the intersection of race and gender placed women of colour in an impossible place where they are subtly (and sometimes less subtly) told that they don't belong and then get blamed for being insufficiently confident or, heaven forbid, "overcompensating."

Sophie Creese, Co-Founder of HeyFlow and Motherboard is also wary of the term being weaponised against women.

"Imposter syndrome often arises from feeling like you don't belong in your work environment or from past experiences of exclusion, especially in male-dominated fields like tech," she says.

"Initially helpful in describing a common feeling among women, the term's overuse now negatively impacts them. Imposter syndrome is usually a result of external factors, not self-created. Labelling the feeling as imposter syndrome can prevent us from addressing its true root cause of subtly unwelcoming environments."

Dr. Mona Mourshed, Founding CEO at Generation, a global nonprofit network that supports people to achieve economic mobility and a better life notes the prevalence of imposter syndrome in people who have a different socioeconomic and/or educational background from most of their peers.

"Impostor syndrome disproportionately affects women and individuals from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, undermining their professional confidence and career progression. The same systemic barriers that can keep people out of great jobs can contribute to misplaced feelings of inadequacy once they get those jobs."

It's very easy to see from this perspective how a vicious circle makes it harder for anyone in a minority in their workplace to be themselves and progress. The under representation creates a sense of not belonging but that sense of not belonging makes you doubt whether you really do belong, and that leads you in turn to question your abilities. This reduces the pool of talent from underrepresented groups for leadership to be recruited from, and so potential future leaders don't see people who look like them that they can aspire to. And so it continues.

Jemma Barton also thinks that tech leadership in is prone to a leadership model that can feed imposter syndrome. She explains:

"In the 90's and noughties tech boom this idea of hero leadership came about – the idea that a good leader should be able to charge in and fix everything. People at the time saw those leaders and it created an impression for the current generation of leaders that this is what leadership looks like.

"In my opinion this is shifting as teams become more diverse, multi-disciplinary and connected. But if leaders are still trying to be the hero, this is where imposter syndrome can manifest because their idea of what a leader is hasn't kept pace with the changing world around them and they put themselves under severe pressure."

Everyone benefits from tackling imposter syndrome

This analysis of imposter syndrome suggests that trying to tackle the more harmful manifestations of imposter syndrome is an organisational endeavour. This in turn would help to encourage individuals to feel supported to take the steps they need to help boost their own confidence.

Indeed, Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey in a follow up article for Harvard Business Review s et out ways that organisations who accept that minority employees must often navigate barriers which are subtle, and invisible to those who don't meet them, can tackle imposter syndrome. These ideas include the use of data in the form of pulse surveys to inform decision making that creates a measurable impact on employees' day-to-day experiences at work.

Uniting the organisational and individual perspectives on imposter syndrome, Jemma Barton thinks that leaders who have come from a background which has led them to question themselves much more are in a great position as expectations of leadership evolve.

"Strong leadership is about creating impact through others," she says. "I think this is a real opportunity for people that have had to figure out themselves out more in their upbringing because they can reflect and have a capacity to build connection that supports them to be more effective leaders.

"They can create better collaboration and connection to reach a place of collective intelligence."

For people earlier on in their careers, Dr Mona Mourshed thinks that reskilling can be helpful.

"Reskilling offers an effective strategy to combat self-doubt, by learning the technical and behavioural skills required to thrive in the workplace, and meeting a supportive community of like-minded peers who can share and learn from each other's workplace experiences. Seeing people from similar backgrounds succeeding in your chosen career can go a long way towards shoring up someone's own belief that they can do the same.

"Reskilling helps level the playing field for women. It's not just about learning technical skills to secure a job; it's also about gaining the confidence to apply for that promotion, speak up in meetings, or pivot to a completely new career path."

Sometimes, self-doubt simply fades with age and experience – particularly for women. Confidence grows and perspectives change as life progresses, and midlife women often report liberation from the burden of others' opinions – a burden that often weighed their younger selves down. As Vanessa Boachie reflects:

"As someone who can relate to both being a woman and growing up in a household with low socioeconomic status, I learned from my community that I would need to work twice as hard as my peers to prove myself, which is a common experience for many people. It is no surprise that these beliefs show up in the workplace.

"However, it doesn't mean that we need to feel like this forever; we can unlearn these beliefs and show up in the world as the people we want to be."

Vanessa Boachie, Founder of Inside Out Wellbeing will deliver a keynote on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome at the Women in Technology Festival on 5th November. Sophie Creese will be also be at the Festival talking about pathways into leadership. Please click here for further information and tickets.

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