Women’s History Month: New Research on Women in Pipeline
As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, SHAMBAUGH Leadership has been busy conducting a research initiative regarding women in the pipeline. This study of more than 500 women examined women throughout the pipeline in different stages of their career, from early, to mid-level, to senior-level executives.
A key finding of SHAMBAUGH Leadership’s Women Rise Research Survey is that self-confidence is the most commonly cited factor for women’s success. Yet we also know that imposter syndrome—believing that you aren’t really capable of doing your job, aren’t competent, or that your success hasn’t been earned but was based on luck or outside factors—is very prevalent among women. Why is this the case?
What’s Behind Imposter Syndrome?
One big reason that so many women fall victim to imposter syndrome is that women face more biases and discrimination in the workplace than men do, and also are often subject to higher expectations about what’s needed to achieve success in their professional role. Imposter syndrome can strike not only junior professionals and senior leaders, but can affect women at all ages and stages in their careers.
Because imposter syndrome is reinforced when you enter a room and you’re the only one who looks like you, this phenomenon can be even more complex for women of color. A culture that exudes bias and stereotypes, devaluing and reducing confidence of women and particularly women of color, can also perpetuate imposter syndrome.
SHAMBAUGH’s findings are amplified by a study released by KPMG in 2023, which found that “A majority of executive women across a range of industries identified having experienced feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, or imposter syndrome, at certain points in their careers.”
In the KPMG research, three quarters (75%) of executive women reported experiencing imposter syndrome at specific points in their career, and nearly as many (74%) said they believe male leaders experience less self-doubt than female leaders.
Confidence Levels Vary, But All Could Use a Boost
Another thing that stood out in SHAMBAUGH’s research was that African American women in the study showed a higher level of confidence in most cases than white women—and this continued throughout the pipeline. Though African-American women had a fairly low rating when it comes to asking for what they wanted, it was higher than white women’s rating for this activity that demands self-confidence.
Our research echoes other studies on women’s confidence levels. One 2017 study, for example, found that “Black women consistently reported higher self-esteem than white or Hispanic women and—among other things—they were far more likely to describe themselves as successful (44 percent said so, compared with 30 percent of white women and 21 percent of Hispanic)”. Note, however, that even among the most confident group of women, more than half did not describe themselves as successful.
That’s why it’s important for women regardless of race to employ effective strategies to combat imposter syndrome. In my next post, I’ll reveal proven strategies on how to address this tendency from my book, It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor, and share how women and companies can leverage these actions to combat imposter syndrome and improve women’s self-esteem.
If you or your team have advice for women in leadership that you’d like to share or questions you’d like to ask about this topic, please reach out to me at info@shambaughleadership.com.
Link to SHAMBAUGH’s offerings on Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Coaching and Development Programs for Women, Keynotes and Fireside Chats.
Listen to this featured Women Rise podcast episode: A Conversation with Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair, Mastercard
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Rebecca Shambaugh is a recognized author and speaker on leadership best practices. She is president of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the bestselling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor. Read Rebecca’s best-selling Harvard Business Review article “To Sound Like a Leader About What You Say and How and When You Say It.
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