Imposter Syndrome. A gender issue?

Imposter syndrome, the feeling of inadequacy or self-doubt despite evident success is one of the most common mental health issues in today’s workplace. It’s something that affects individuals regardless of gender with nearly 58% of employees experiencing feelings of self-doubt and failure that override their successes in their workplace.

It has however been observed that imposter syndrome may be more commonly reported among women. The ‘Working on Wellbeing’ survey of 2,500 UK workers in 2022 and showed that 21% of women suffered very frequently from imposter syndrome compared to just 12% of men.  A further study of 4,000 adults commissioned by Galaxy and the Young Women’s Trust in 2023 found that 62% of the women claimed to have hardly ever felt true confidence in their lives, with 53% struggling with unwarranted feelings of self-doubt, incompetence, and being underqualified. Comparatively, 54% of the men surveyed said they had never felt that way at all, with 63% admitting they only ever felt like it in the workplace.

Although imposter syndrome can affect individuals regardless of gender, there are specific issues that may disproportionately impact women. Some of these include:

1.     Societal Expectations: Women often face societal pressure to be perfect, nurturing, and accommodating, exacerbating feelings of inadequacy if they feel they don't meet these standards.

2.     Gender Bias: Women are more likely to be underestimated or overlooked, leading them to doubt their abilities and feel they don't belong in certain roles or industries.

3.     Tokenism: As a result of being the minority in male-dominated fields, women may feel they have to prove themselves constantly to be taken seriously.

4.     Perfectionism: Women are more likely to internalise perfectionist tendencies, set excessively high standards for themselves and feel like failures if they don't meet them.

5.     Work-Life Balance: Juggling multiple roles and responsibilities alongside professional aspirations can amplify feelings of inadequacy and impostorism.

6.     Lack of Representation: A lack of female leaders can make it difficult for women to envision themselves succeeding in similar roles.

7.     Microaggressions: Women may encounter subtle forms of discrimination such as being interrupted frequently or having their ideas dismissed, which can undermine their confidence and reinforce imposter syndrome.

8.     Stereotype Threat: Women may experience performance anxiety due to the fear of conforming to negative stereotypes about their gender's competence in certain fields.

9.     Internalised Sexism: Women who have internalised societal messages about their worth or capabilities based on their gender may struggle as they navigate professional environments.

10.  Imposter Syndrome Cycle: Women may find themselves in a cycle of imposter syndrome, where feelings of inadequacy lead to self-doubt and fear of failure, which in turn reinforces the belief that they are imposters.

Although imposter syndrome can affect anyone, the early exposure to negative beliefs and thought patterns means women may be more susceptible to the self-doubt that provides the basis for imposter syndrome. In the workplace they are often held to a higher standard than men, and are expected to be warm, caring and sociable whilst dealing with many other contradictory and clashing biases.

An understanding of the specific challenges faced by women can create more supportive environments and interventions to address imposter syndrome. This requires a multifaceted approach that includes building self-confidence, challenging societal norms and biases, fostering inclusive environments, providing mentorship and support networks, and promoting a culture of recognition and validation for achievements.

Gender, sexuality and communication.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – Gender, sexuality and communication.

In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to Georgie Williams, a specialist in gender and sexuality whose work focuses on how gender and sexuality varies in different communities and cultures around the world and how the Wests influence on those communities has shaped those identities.

Georgie identifies specifically as genderqueer and as pansexual. Georgie’s recent papers have focused predominantly on marginality pertaining to queer and specifically non-cisgender identities, but has also written about aspects of sexuality, structural violence, borders and bodies as sites of resistance through interdisciplinary and intersectional lenses.

Gender and sexuality play an integral role in all of our lives. Our dynamics, our sexual and non-sexual relationships and the roles assigned to us socially are often based around our gender perceptions of one another. In understanding how gender and sexuality vary, we can understand miscommunications between communities and cultures based on a mistranslation or misalignment of norms and practices.  If we understand them, that exclusivity is a means to create productivity, symbiosis and communication within communities. Understanding sexuality is about communication, something that benefits all of us

Georgie feels that the younger generation, in particular Generation Z, engages and focuses with this message more than many of the older generation. By focusing on visibility and representation, community based social change and practice can happen which really matters as it gives voices to individuals who were not afforded that opportunity in the first place. She thinks that globalization and access to the internet virtual spaces and social media has given younger people the opportunity to congregate and find their community.

The younger generation has been raised in a time where conversation around gender and sexuality is more open than ever before.  People can discuss sensitive matters in confidence with others who have gone through it before. In time social change can be enacted and communities will become more visible in non-virtual spaces. Small communities and marginal groups have always existed and found ways to congregate but now this is more feasible and visible.

One of the benefits of engaging with diversity in the workplace is that it focuses a brand new lens on what an organisation is doing. This will help shed light on potential blind spots that existing team members may have missed because of their own standpoint or experience.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about Georgie here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available. Our full blog archive is also available.

You can find out more about Georgie at /slashqueer.com