CAPGEMINI AT THE DEFENCE WOMEN’S NETWORK 2^ND ANNIVERSARY

Recent research suggests that the widely held idea that women are less confident in their abilities than men is an incorrect interpretation of appearances. This alleged lack of confidence has been cited as one of the contributors to inequity in promotions and the poor representation of women at the top levels of corporate leadership. However, the problem isn’t that women aren’t confident but that confidence in women is not rewarded in the work world and that can create the imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. How can women overcome this? How can an organisation help?