The likelihood of having imposter syndrome becomes more prominent with individuals who have dealt with micro-aggressions, internalized biases and misrepresentation.
A field like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) typically is a male-dominated that comes with a multitude of subtle prejudices and self-objectivity putting access pressures for perfection for both male and females. Women are constantly trying to prove that they can excel in the field that is run by men, whereas men are already expected to succeed in it because they dominate it.
Isha Hussain grew up being the only girl out of three brothers. This came with its own set of biases as she felt in competition with her overachieving siblings. However, she went on to create her own path, attending Farmingdale State College, majoring in psychology. Now, she is attempting to prove to herself and others that she can be a woman in STEM.
“We all constantly get compared to others and, even if we perform well, someone always performs better. In my own experiences, whenever I would get good grades or achieve something, I would always think that someone out there is smarter than me and that my success didn’t matter,” Hussain said.
Similar to STEM, journalism is a highly competitive field with everyone racing to get on news stations and write for big publications. Students are immersed right away in writing, reporting, editing and producing. Everything is thrown at you at once and you have deadlines to meet and good grades to seek. The need to remain perfect and overachieve is huge, as you have to be the best nowadays to even get a foot in the door.
Jianni Burnett pushes herself to make sure her school projects and her work as being an assistant studio manager comes out perfectly. This constant need to be the best creates self-doubt and leads her to put enormous pressure on herself.
“I understand that there will always be room for improvement in such a dynamic industry. However imposter syndrome has impacted my perception of my role in the control room as an assistant studio manager,” said Burnett.