Rethinking Imposter Syndrome

A call to change our perspective on an almost 50-year old phenomenon.

Do you recall your first encounter with the term “imposter syndrome”? Chances are, it was introduced to you by a woman, perhaps even at a women-focused event.

Me on stage at Hacking for Humanity in 2022 — not talking about imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome, while not classified as a mental disorder, is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their abilities and fear being exposed as frauds. It’s often associated with women.

A study by KMPG in 2020 revealed that 74% of executive women believe their male counterparts don’t experience self-doubt to the same extent. However, research on gender differences in imposter syndrome hasn’t conclusively supported this perception. Despite this, why does the focus remain largely on women?

The term “imposter syndrome” was coined in 1978 by Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance, primarily observed in high-achieving women and marginalized groups, leading to early research predominantly focusing on women.

Furthermore, women are more inclined to associate with imposter syndrome due to its prevalent discussion and promotion within female organizations — a trend I aim to challenge today.

Personal Experiences of Imposter Syndrome

Throughout my life, I’ve also faced moments of feeling like an imposter:

1. During high school, coming from a non-academic family, I often told myself that my achievements were only the result of hard work, a tactic to shield myself from criticism on my — what I believed non-existent — intelligence.
2. While at university, pursuing an engineering degree as a woman, I once had a classmate imply that my academic success was solely due to my gender. This comment amplified my self-doubt, making me question whether I truly deserved my grades.
3. In my professional life as a software engineer, lacking a formal computer science background, it took me a considerable amount of time to realize that the senior engineers weren’t meticulously reviewing my code because they doubted my abilities. Rather, their scrutiny was rooted in their belief in my potential.

Me at a panel discussion sharing my experiences as a woman in tech.

When I experienced these feelings of not being good enough, not fitting in, not deserving what I had achieved, I simply attributed it to a lack of experience and self-confidence, which felt quite obvious given the new situations and environments I was in.

I first heard about imposter syndrome in a colleague’s article about her experiences in tech. Until then, I hadn’t considered that my feelings of inadequacy might have a label, or that something might be wrong with me.

Knowing about this “syndrome” made me initially feel even more inadequate, as it further emphasized a stereotype of high-achieving women in tech that I feared to confirm.

A Shift in Perspective

My understanding of imposter syndrome was first challenged in 2023, when Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, gave a commencement speech at Smith College explaining that imposter syndrome — just like 1890’s bicycle face — was not a syndrome, but had developed into a supposed scheme.

“Imposter syndrome is a distraction, a strategy, a way to keep our concentration on our own alledged inedaquecies.” — Reshma Saujani

Saujani also mentions in her speech that the original publication from 1978 did not coin the term “syndrome”, but called it “imposter phenomenon”.
This prompted me to reconsider how I perceive my own moments of feeling like an imposter, as well as the manner in which we’ve been using the term in public discussions.

Normalizing Imposter Syndrome

Most people, except maybe narcissist, experience self-doubt, question themselves and wonder whether they deserve to be where they are. Everyone of us has been in situations where we felt like an imposter.

“The only people who never feel like impostors are narcissists.“ — Adam Grant

These feelings can become problematic when they hinder our ability to function. Research shows that people who sincerely struggle with imposter syndrome are more prone to develop mental health issues like depression and anxiety. While many of us encounter moments of self-doubt, the degree of its impact can vary greatly among individuals.

Imagine every person who’s ever felt down in their life decided to call themselves depressed. That’s similar to how it feels when everyone says they have imposter syndrome. It diminshes the experience of those that are really suffering from it — temporarily or chronically.

Reclaiming the Narrative

A research study in 1985 revealed that back then, individuals grappling with impostor syndrome often felt they were alone in experiencing these emotions. Today, such a sentiment would arise not from a lack of public discourse — because there is certainly enough talk about it — but rather from insufficient addressing of negative emotions in the workplace.

When a (female) speaker promotes imposter syndrome as a focus topic at a women’s event, we are not only perpetuating stereotypes and a feeling of inadequacy amongst women, we are also intentionally strengthening a narrative that makes us feel like we don’t belong instead of giving room to what empowers us.

Normalize self-doubt as a feeling that is not female, but simply human.

Here and now, it’s time to take back control. We are where we belong. Let’s agree to put an end to the talk about imposter syndrome — at least on public stages. Instead, let’s call it what it truly is: self-doubt. And normalize it as a feeling that is simply human, and not female.

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Thank you for reading along ❤ I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with using the term “imposter syndrome”. Let me know in the comments!

Sources

Research papers

• The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247.
• Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome. Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., et al. (2019). J. Gen. Intern. Med. 35, 1252–1275.
• Contextualizing the Imposter ‘Syndrome’. Feenstra Sanne, Begeny Christopher T., Ryan Michelle K., Rink Floor A., Stoker Janka I., Jordan Jennifer (2020). Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 11.

Articles

• Feeling Like an Impostor Is Not a Syndrome.
• Imposter Syndrome is Modern-Day Bicycle Face by Reshma Saujani.
• 3 Reasons Imposter syndrom is actually a professional superpower.

Disclaimer: This article has been enhanced with the support of ChatGPT.