In this article, Maya McCrae who was on our 30 under 30 2024 list, talks about how young women are more likely to be impacted by imposter syndrome, and her experience of this in the workplace.

Imposter Syndrome is a term that is widely thrown about when we talk about success and expectations. You may have heard your teachers talk about it during exam season, or your employment manager mention it when you’re preparing for a promotion, or even your close friends and family when you’re feeling a little anxious about your ability, but what is Imposter Syndrome? 

According to Gill Corkindale, Imposter Syndrome can be described as ‘an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others may perceive you to be. It can be a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite Success’, but let’s look at that a bit further. Imposter Syndrome is predominantly experienced by high-achieving individuals but disproportionately affects women. Research also shows that the phenomenon has a greater effect on young people and those belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, which I believe is having a detrimental impact on the structure of our workforce. 

According to the Company Chemists Association in England, 61.3% of pharmacists and 85.3% of Pharmacy Technicians identify as female, however, women remain underrepresented in senior positions, with research showing that just 36% of senior pharmacy leaders are women. There are unfortunately numerous reasons why there’s such a disparity within this one sector, but the truth is that this is just one example of women dominating a sector yet being overshadowed by men in senior positions of power. According to the same research by the Executive Development Network, Pharmaceuticals featured as one of the sectors with the highest amounts of Imposter Syndrome (78%). From this data, we see there could be a link between imposter syndrome and women not advancing into higher positions within their careers. 

As a young woman of colour, who has been described as a high-achieving individual, I have experienced what I’d describe as ‘imposter syndrome’ many times during my career so far. Outside of my voluntary commitments representing my constituency as a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, and representing the charity as a Trustee, I’m a supervisor in a local coffee shop. The job itself is fairly easy; I come into work, create a floorplan for my team, check food safety and occasionally make a latte or two. I joined the company last year after leaving the Civil Service; as someone who loves a good yap, and adapts easily to new environments, finding my feet in the job wasn’t an issue for me. However, the microaggressions and borderline workplace bullying that came soon after being promoted is exactly what led to the severe doubt I had in my own abilities.

A job that I once loved became a source of anxiety and dread. I would walk into my store feeling like a fraud and as if I’d cheated my way into the new position. It was bizarre because, at times, it didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong, or making any more mistakes than anyone else would, but I built this constant pressure on myself to be perfect; it made me overthink every decision I made and it ultimately led to making more errors. 

When you feel isolated in a workplace and this feeling of being an imposter becomes a constant, it’s hard not to feel embarrassed or address the issues at hand. Asking for reassurance doesn’t feel like an option, and you begin to internalise these thoughts and feelings until they overshadow your own perception of yourself and prevent you from growing. Feeling so uncomfortable in a position I should’ve had no issue fulfilling just perpetuated this idea of ‘I’m not good enough, I should demote myself because I’m clearly the issue.’ 

Taking a step back from the situation helped me realise that all I’d done was take on a new role and try my best to support the team and the business. It wasn’t a ‘fault’ that I’d been identified as being qualified for the promotion, yet I was made to feel as though it was. After opening up about how I was feeling, I was told that it’s important to remember that people find it hard to see others succeed when they’re insecure about their own abilities. It turns out that the people causing the most trouble by being disobedient and asking questions such as ‘Are you even Scottish?’ also wanted the promotion, and were envious that I as a younger member of the team, with less direct experience in the hospitality industry, was granted the opportunity before them. 

That’s just one of my stories but I guarantee that if you ask any of the young women in your life, they’ll have a similar story to tell. In fact, a study published in the Scotsman in 2023 showed that on average, symptoms of imposter syndrome start to affect women at the age of 23, with 62% admitting that they’ve rarely felt true confidence in themselves throughout their lives, generally.  

Now we know that this is a prevalent issue, particularly affecting young women, so what can we do to curb this ever-growing trend of people feeling ‘less than’ their (predominantly) male colleagues? I think it’s about firstly, admitting that this is not just an individual issue, this needs to be addressed within many Scottish employment sectors and workplace structures. Secondly, by speaking to women, and men, to find out about and learn from their lived experience, to gauge what we as a society can do better to support each other. 

The idea of ‘diversity hiring’ doesn’t always work and isn’t the only active solution to the problem. It’s not just about placing women into positions of power as an act of tokenistic virtue signalling, it’s about creating and facilitating environments where people are able to excel and progress at their own pace, without the pressure of being perfect, and that anything less than isn’t good enough. 

My hope for the future, as I mentioned before in previous articles I’ve written, is that one day we’ll reach a point where women aren’t commended for their success just because they’re women, but they’re commended because they’re successful. But before this goal can be achieved, we need to address the barriers in place that are preventing women reaching the top, and I think that starts with eradicating Imposter syndrome. 

This article is part of a series during the Young Women Work campaign, tackling gender inequality in the workplace. Read more about the campaign and its recommendations, and help us spread the word. Can you ask your workplace to sign the pledge and commit to being part of the change?