Why We Need to Stop Asking Women About Imposter Syndrome

But perhaps here’s a better question: Why are we still framing women’s success as something they need to “believe in” rather than something they’ve rightfully earned? Framing it like this only reinforces the notion that their achievements are subjective, contingent on their own perceptions rather than the result of their skills, efforts, and accomplishments. It suggests that confidence, rather than competence, is the key to their advancement - as if women must first convince themselves of their worth before they can be recognized by others.

Who Actually Gets Asked About Imposter Syndrome?

Imposter syndrome - the feeling of self-doubt despite evident accomplishments - was first identified in the 1970s by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. Originally, it was thought to be a psychological pattern disproportionately affecting high-achieving women – in fact, studies show that 75% of female executives report experiencing imposter syndrome at some point in their careers. But as more research has emerged, we’ve learned that imposter syndrome also affects people across different industries and experience levels. So why does the conversation remain so gendered?

Men are rarely asked how they ‘overcame’ imposter syndrome. We don’t ask them to justify their confidence or explain how they learned to believe in themselves. Instead, we assume their success is a natural outcome of their competence. Meanwhile, women are routinely encouraged to “silence their inner critic,” “own their success,” and “fake it ‘til they make it.” The implicit message? That their biggest barrier is not systemic bias, but their own self-doubt.

And it doesn’t stop with gender.

Look at who else gets asked about imposter syndrome. It’s women, yes, but it’s also people of colour, first-generation professionals, and members of diaspora communities. It’s those who enter spaces where power has historically been concentrated in the hands of others. They are the ones expected to prove, again and again, that they deserve a seat at the table. And when they feel like outsiders - when they hesitate to speak up or question whether they belong - we label it as imposter syndrome rather than recognizing the wider systemic forces at play.

The Rise of Imposter Syndrome as a Cultural Phenomenon

While imposter syndrome was first identified decades ago, it has only recently become a widely discussed topic, particularly in professional and academic spaces. Over the past decade, conversations around mental health and workplace challenges have gained traction, and imposter syndrome has become a trending topic in leadership discussions, self-help literature, and social media discourse.

Because of this increased visibility, younger generations - particularly Millennials and Gen Z - are more likely to recognize and identify with imposter syndrome. In fact, those aged 25 to 39 are more likely to report feelings of being frauds in the workplace (27%), whereas only a small proportion of workers aged 65 and above report such feelings (3%). Unlike previous generations who may have experienced self-doubt but lacked a specific term for it, younger professionals are exposed to these discussions early in their careers, making imposter syndrome more front of mind. The widespread use of digital platforms such as social media, where individuals constantly compare themselves to curated success stories, has further fuelled the perception of imposter syndrome as a common struggle.

However, the normalization of imposter syndrome as an inevitable part of professional growth risks reinforcing the very problem it aims to address. By constantly framing success as something that individuals must “overcome” self-doubt to achieve, we risk perpetuating the belief that confidence is a bigger determinant of success than structural equity and workplace inclusivity.

It’s Not Imposter Syndrome - It’s Exclusion

Let’s be clear: Women aren’t struggling with confidence in a vacuum. They’re working within environments that often undervalue their contributions, question their authority, and hold them to higher standards than their male counterparts.

Studies show that women receive less credit for their ideas, are more likely to be interrupted in meetings, and face harsher penalties for assertiveness. People of colour are often mistaken for junior employees, regardless of their experience. And first-generation professionals frequently navigate workplace cultures designed around unspoken rules they were never taught.

In these contexts, feeling like an outsider isn’t an internal flaw - it’s a rational response to external realities. When your competence is consistently scrutinized, when you are one of the few people in the room who looks like you, when you have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously, of course you’ll question whether you belong. That’s not imposter syndrome - that’s exclusion.

Are We Making It Worse? The Confirmation Bias of Imposter Syndrome

Here’s another uncomfortable truth: By constantly asking women about imposter syndrome, we might actually be making it worse.

There’s a well-documented psychological phenomenon called ‘confirmation bias’, which is the tendency to look for evidence that supports what we already believe. When we repeatedly talk about imposter syndrome in relation to women, people of colour, and first-generation professionals, we reinforce the idea that this is an inevitable part of their experience – it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. The more we frame imposter syndrome as a universal struggle, the more likely people are to identify with it, internalize it, and see it as something they need to “overcome” rather than question why they feel this way in the first place.

What if, instead of planting the idea that women should be feeling imposter syndrome, we stopped assuming they did? What if, instead of normalizing self-doubt, we normalized the expectation that women belong in leadership? What if, instead of making overcoming imposter syndrome a personal responsibility, we made fixing exclusion a collective one?

The Real Problem: A System That Still Rewards the Status Quo

In continuing to ask women and marginalized groups about imposter syndrome, we reinforce the idea that the burden is on them to fix their mindset rather than on workplaces to fix their cultures. Instead of telling women to “own their success” or “stop playing small,” we should be asking some very different questions. Why do so many women feel this way in the first place? Why do people of colour and first-generation professionals experience this at such high rates? What structural changes can organizations make to ensure people feel valued and respected? And how do we redistribute power so that women and marginalized groups no longer feel like they need to constantly prove themselves?

These are the questions that matter, and they require solutions that go far beyond self-help advice. It’s not enough to encourage women to be more confident when workplaces continue to reward the status quo. It’s not enough to tell professionals of colour to “push past self-doubt” when bias still influences hiring, promotions, and leadership opportunities. Focus needs to shift to bringing about real change - reworking policies, holding leaders accountable, and creating workplaces where diversity and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords, but the norm.

We Need to Stop Putting the Burden on Individuals

Shifting the conversation away from imposter syndrome doesn’t mean ignoring the very real self-doubt many people experience. But it does mean recognizing that the solution isn’t just personal resilience. It’s systemic change.

We don’t need more advice telling women how to cope with feeling like they don’t belong. We need to make sure they actually do.