#GAReads | Why imposter syndrome hits women and women of colour harder
photo credit: Christina @ wocintechchat.com, via Unsplash
“Why imposter syndrome hits women and women of colour harder”:
You may not be able to see it around you, but imposter syndrome permeates the workplace. It’s a feeling that many people can identify with: why do I feel like a fraud even though I’m eminently qualified for this job? Despite having education and training, many have never been able to break free of doubting their worthiness and step into any a higher level of success.
But although anyone can ask this question, imposter syndrome has an outsize effect on certain groups.“Women, women of colour, especially black women, as well as the LGBTQ community are most at risk,” says Brian Daniel Norton, a psychotherapist and executive coach in New York. “When you experience systemic oppression or are directly or indirectly told your whole life that you are less-than or underserving of success and you begin to achieve things in a way that goes against a long-standing narrative in the mind, imposter syndrome will occur.”