Delegates opened up about their own experiences of imposter syndrome (90% had experienced it) and it was great to see how a range of people joined from across the gender spectrum. 

CIHT's EDI Manager Emma Carruthers led a presentation around the theory of imposter syndrome, developed by Psychologists Clance and Imes in the 1970s originally described as 'imposter phenomenon' which was initially believed to have been experienced by women in academia - whom comprised that primary sample group.

CIHT's immediate past President Deborah Sims discussed her own experiences and made some fantastic practical recommendations for developing positive coping strategies including some reading on the subject of imposter syndrome and the experiences of women.

Helen Samuels of Kier Construction and Managing Director of EKFB, shared her perspectives on imposter syndrome as a successful leader whose outstanding achievements and proven abilities have been overlooked on occasion and her gender identity has instead been the focus (would this happen to a man?) and suggested a range of practical tips including identifying allies and calling out being overlooked professionally.

Helen Townend of Amey cited her unique experiences as both a woman in engineering as well as from her professional role as Technical Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Helen discussed the apparent disparity between an apparent high prevalence in men experiencing imposter syndrome and the number of women who self-report their experiences. A discussion took place around this potentially being due to a number of women not attributing their experiences to imposter syndrome or their preference in avoiding any self-disclosure and men having more confidence in comparison, fearing less about any risk to career progression than their female counterparts.

A general consensus was derived from the webinar and related panel discussions, as to achieving an ideal balance of individuals identifying and applying positive coping strategies, as well as collective action in tackling the systems and structures that create and reinforce imposter syndrome in particular experienced by women .

The webinar supports CIHT's work on equality, diversity and inclusion and our Shifting the Dial equality, diversity and inclusion strategy 2022-27 and is one of many exciting events that we will be supporting. 

To find out more about our five-year strategy and how you can get involved, visit: Shifting the Dial’.

Watch the webinar here: