Imposter Syndrome and Belonging

I was fascinated by this week’s New Yorker article on imposter syndrome. As a woman in tech, I am all too familiar with imposter syndrome and how it especially affects women in the workplace. Hearing successful women describe their pervasive fears of inadequacy has become so familiar I barely notice it anymore. “Imposter syndrome,” I think, “of course.” Once diagnosed, we all nod and move on.

This article reframed my assumptions about imposter syndrome. The author describes the feeling as a reaction to the dichotomy between the self we present in the workplace and our “true” self—a dichotomy that’s all the more apparent when we cross cultural or class boundaries, as when a student is the first in their family to go to college, for example. This rings true for me, and for the instances where I most often hear other women describe their experiences with it. I appreciate, too, that this framing describes feelings of inadequacy not as a syndrome, like an illness, but as an experience—and a common one, at that.

Some of the most cogent arguments against the usefulness of “imposter syndrome” as a concept are the ways it can be used to pathologize an individual’s experiences with toxic workplaces and institutions. If a woman of color’s sense of discomfort in a traditionally white and male workplace can be reduced to an internal dilemma rather than a result of systemic inequality and prejudice, then the solution can be written off as one of personal growth. “She just needs to be more confident,” rather than “our workplace needs to be more supportive of people with different experiences and cultural backgrounds.”

This leads me to one of my favorite talking points: the importance of cultivating a culture of belonging in the workplace. When employees, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, or cultural background, feel empowered to be themselves at work, the chasm between the “true self” and the “work self” is diminished. You cannot be “found out” as inadequate if you have been able to present yourself as you are from the outset.?

The next time I hear about someone facing imposter syndrome, I’ll think about ways we can empower people from all walks of life in the workplace, rather than sharing well-intentioned but ultimately empty platitudes about self-confidence.