Women in senior positions are still far more likely than their male colleagues to fall victim to “impostor syndrome,” a new study shows.
Women working in academia and healthcare are most at risk of feeling like frauds, despite being highly successful.
Female plastic surgeons are also particularly prone to this syndrome, but gender differences are smaller among businessmen.
Researchers at the University of California came to this conclusion after analyzing more than 40 years of data from 42,000 people around the world.
Previous recent research had suggested that women’s feelings toward impostor syndrome had decreased, and an increasing number of them were in high-level positions.
Women in high-level jobs are more likely to suffer from imposter syndrome (File Image)
But the new study reports: “Although the claim that there are no gender differences appears repeatedly, this research flatly contradicts it.”
Psychologists first revealed impostor syndrome in the 1970s, believing that women were more likely to suffer than men due to social stereotypes that considered them “less intelligent and less capable.”
This led women to look for other reasons for their success, such as “good luck.”
They believe that they are not as intelligent or capable as others and have difficulty recognizing praise.
Researchers say mental health consequences include anxiety, depression, exhaustion and an inability to enjoy success.
The University of California findings are published in the journal Current Research in Behavioral Sciences.
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