imposter syndrome research Archives ~ Clare Josa

What We Need Instead Of Gender Equality To Close The Gender Pay Gap

There was a meme going round social media a couple of months ago with a cartoon of a father taking his two young children to a football match. One child was much shorter than the other and they were standing behind a barrier, which neither child could see over.

The father gave his children each the same sized box to stand on. The taller child could now see the match, but the shorter child couldn’t. This was equality.

In the second image, the shorter child had a taller box and both children could now enjoy watching the game. This was ‘equity’ – giving each child what they needed to be able to have the same opportunities.

I was discussing this at an event I spoke at last week, with regards to the gender pay gap and lack of gender parity in leadership roles.

Gender equality isn’t enough.

We need equity – but that doesn’t mean ‘positive discrimination’. It means proactively removing the barriers that disadvantage women in the workplace when it comes to senior roles.

One of the key findings of the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study (you can read the white paper here) was that Imposter Syndrome is one of three core drivers in the gender pay gap. The other two were the ‘alpha-male’ culture at the most senior levels of many businesses and the career-destroying impact of requesting flexible working or not wanting to do the extended hours and travel that come with senior roles, so you can spend time with your family, too.

Although the research showed that men and women struggle with Imposter Syndrome at similar rates (52% of female respondents and 49% of male respondents said they experience it ‘daily’ or ‘regularly’), the data showed that men and women handle it very differently.

Men tended to ‘push on through’, despite Imposter Syndrome, which has its own long-term consequences in terms of stress, anxiety and depression, but which also meant that it didn’t hold men back as much from asking for pay rises, ‘owning’ their achievements, or going for promotions.

Whereas for women, the secret 3am self-talk that you’re ‘not good enough’ or might be ‘found out as a fraud’ was enough to keep them playing smaller than male colleagues, being less likely to take full credit for their achievements, not speaking up with their best ideas, not taking opportunities to shine – despite evidence that they were great at their job.

Imposter Syndrome can lead to women being less likely to be considered for leadership roles.

Another key finding of the research was that the level of Imposter Syndrome for men tends to go down significantly when they are promoted, with the job title acting as external validation. Whereas, for women, it tends to increase.

If a woman running Imposter Syndrome is promoted into a role that subconsciously feels outside of her ‘safe zone’, she can feel like a spotlight is shining on her, increasing the fear of being ‘found out’, no matter how much evidence there was that she is doing a great job.

So when we look at the positive initiatives that many companies are putting in place to support women into more senior roles, we won’t close the gender pay gap unless we first deal with Imposter Syndrome.

Gender equality isn’t enough. We need gender equity, to level that playing field, genuinely giving women the same opportunities as their male colleagues.

One of the biggest challenges with Imposter Syndrome is that those who struggle with it the most tend to work hard to hide it.

That’s why it’s so important for managers and HR teams to be aware of the warning signs that Imposter Syndrome might be running under the surface. And the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study now gives us the data to create a framework to spot it – including telling the difference between Imposter Syndrome and confidence / self-doubt – as well as practical action plans for solutions.

With potentially half of a workforce struggling with Imposter Syndrome ‘daily’ or ‘regularly’ in any given year – and its effects on performance, productivity, team dynamics and profit, being able to turn it around can create breakthroughs in business performance, innovation and retention of your best employees.

And you can create those breakthroughs in just a few months, once you have the processes and training in place.

The first key is to open up the discussion about Imposter Syndrome – to remove the taboo.

And this needs to happen amongst men, as well as women. The research study proves that Imposter Syndrome is not just a ‘girl thing’, but that allowing it to appear as such makes it even more likely that Imposter Syndrome will hold women back.

Then, for the equity, you might consider running specific leadership development programmes for women that include clearing Imposter Syndrome as one of the key outcomes.

For less senior staff, the sooner they can ditch Imposter Syndrome, the less of an impact it will have on their career, their future teams, and the business. They can create breakthroughs in as little as 90 days.

I’m curious: are you seeing any of the warning signs of Imposter Syndrome in your organisation?

Would you like to chat about how Imposter Syndrome might be affecting your teams?

You can book a call with me here and I’d be happy to guide you through the kinds of questions you can ask, to find out how big an issue this might be for you, as well as some of the most effective solutions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Clare

Author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome

Host of the Soul Led Leaders Podcast

But We Don’t Have Imposter Syndrome In Our Business!

Soul Led Leaders

That’s the most common response I hear from budget-holders in big businesses: that despite the results of the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study, it’s not a an issue in their firm.

And, of course, that might be true. But it’s unlikely. Especially if they haven’t done anything to actively spot and address Imposter Syndrome and its damaging effects on people, productivity, performance and profit.

These also tend to be the firms who think that closing the gender pay gap is the role of the remunerations team, and who judge women who ask for flexible working as not committed enough to their careers and not worthy of senior leadership roles.

And they tend to be the companies who recruit ‘mini-me’ alpha-males to replace retiring C-suite executives, not yet valuing the enormous contributions that female staff bring to the business. Unless they start behaving like alpha-males, too.

The Research Study found that these were the three core drivers in the gender pay gap and lack of gender parity in leadership roles: the alpha-male culture in the C-Suite, lack of flexible working, and Imposter Syndrome.

And these firms may never change. They may never close the gender pay gap. They may never achieve gender parity in senior leadership roles. Not even if a new government legislates to make reporting your plans to close those gaps compulsory.

They are in denial about the real causes of the challenges they face.

But there are other companies out there who are prepared to open their eyes, even if that feels scary, to talk about the F-word (feelings), and to acknowledge that mental and emotional wellbeing are core to an employee’s performance, rather than just something to be delegated to the HR intern to run some ‘lunch and learn’ sessions.

These are the companies who can see that Imposter Syndrome can turn a thriving team toxic in just a few months. They are the firms who are passionate about empowering staff to show up as all of who they really are, rather than a shut-down, play-it-safe automaton. They are the businesses who will attract the best leaders and grow their in-house rising stars, with a reputation of being the firm in the industry to work for.

The 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study showed that is the last taboo in the personal development field at work. Those struggling with it would rather leave a role they love, hoping to find one that doesn’t trigger their fear of being ‘found out’ as not good enough, than ask for help and support.

It also showed that hardly any firms have processes in place to spot Imposter Syndrome, let alone training and mentoring support, to help someone to clear it out, once and for all. So their staff – up to 89% of them – are ‘pushing on through’, lying awake at 3am, worrying that someone might realise they’re a fraud, trying to hide the performance-trashing stress and anxiety that brings with it.

It’s not because these firms are ‘evil employers’. It’s because there are so many myths out there about Imposter Syndrome being incurable – or inevitable – or a ‘badge of honour’ to justify poor performance – that businesses don’t know where to start, to deal with it.

The Research Study White Paper gives you the initial facts you need, to start making bold decisions on this. And if you are serious about making Imposter Syndrome a thing of the past, so your organisation can grow and thrive amidst the current market challenges, DM me to set up a call.

If you’re struggling with Imposter Syndrome yourself, DM me to set up a call about options to work together. My landmark 1:1 mentoring programme can support you to create life-changing breakthroughs in under 90 days. So you could be on your way to being free from Imposter Syndrome – forever – in as little as ninety days.

And I’m curious: why do you think that Imposter Syndrome is a taboo subject in most businesses? And what could you do to spark a wave of change in your company?

Clare Josa is considered the UK’s leading authority on Imposter Syndrome, having specialised supporting senior leaders to ditch it, for over 15 years, having led the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study, and her new book, Ditching Imposter Syndrome, was published in September this year and already has readers in 22 countries.

Landmark Imposter Syndrome Research Study Proves: “It’s Not Just A Girl Thing”

Soul Led Leaders

The urban myth that Imposter Syndrome only affects women has been blown out of the water by the landmark 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study.

Involving qualitative depth interviews and a quantitative survey, this UK-based research showed that men and women are affected at similar rates:

52% of female respondents and 49% of male respondents said they struggle with Imposter Syndrome 'daily' or 'regularly'.Click To Tweet

The assumption that it was a ‘girl thing’ comes from two factors, according to the research:

1. The Original 1978 Imposter Syndrome Research

The original research by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, back in 1978, led people to assume that Imposter Syndrome is a female-only phenomenon.

However, most people don’t realise that the research only included women.

Also, culturally, back in the 1970s, few men would have admitted to struggling with Imposter Syndrome, so there was no narrative to contradict the assumption.

Clance’s later work confirmed that men also struggle with this, but it wasn’t as widely publicised.

2. Men And Women Handle It Differently

The 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study showed that men and women handle Imposter Syndrome very differently.

Both genders tend to keep it quiet, thinking they are the only person struggling with it.

But women are twenty times more likely to open up to friends and family about how they are feeling than men are.

Men were found to be five times more likely to turn to alcohol and medication, to numb the stress, fear and anxiety that Imposter Syndrome can trigger.

The 2019 research also shows another surprising gender difference – based on the respondents’ self-declared level of seniority in their company:

For men, Imposter Syndrome rates go DOWN when they reach the most senior levels. For women, those rates go UP. Click To Tweet

Subsequent qualitative interviews found the key driver for this is that men see their promotion as external validation – approval and evidence that they are good enough. So they don’t feed the self-talk stories that trigger Imposter Syndrome as much.

Women, on the other hand, tended to see their promotion as meaning they now had to prove themselves even more, as the spotlight was on them and people were waiting for them to fail.

To prevent this, companies need to work with women to address potential Imposter Syndrome issues, as part of their promotion on-boarding support.

There was another key finding when it comes to women in senior roles:

Businesses Are Losing Their Best Women Leaders
The research showed that women are far more likely to leave their current employer to seek a promotion than to apply internally, because of the fear of public failure.

With an external move, no one needed to know if they didn’t get the role. With an internal promotion, they felt they would have to leave, if they didn’t get it.

Whereas men tended to be more competitive, putting themselves forward for promotions and opportunities to shine, women tended to wait for these to ‘happen to them’.

The data showed that, in the past year:

30% of female respondents had chosen not to volunteer for opportunities in the past year that would have allowed them to shine
45% had not applied for a promotion they felt they deserved
61% were less likely to speak up with their best ideas or controversial opinions, for fear of being criticised

The research makes it clear why it is so easy for high-achieving women to be overlooked for promotions and golden opportunities.

The evidence points to the fact that Imposter Syndrome is a key factor in the gender pay gap and gender-related glass ceilings, even in companies that are working hard towards equality. And it also explains why positive discrimination and quotas can make it worse.

"To fix the gender pay gap, we must first address Imposter Syndrome."

Clare Josa

Lead Researcher on the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study

& author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome

For the full White Paper on the research study results, register free here:

And if you’re interested in talking with Clare Josa, who led the research study, about how Imposter Syndrome might be affecting your business, you can book a call with her here.

Clare Josa's new book: Ditching Imposter Syndrome is published by Beyond Alchemy Publishing on 30th September 2019.

To find out more and get your copy, click here.