GETTING PAST IMPOSTER SYNDROME We need to shift the prevailing narrative and recognise that the real imposter is a system that makes female leaders feel like frauds, argues Sheena Yap Chan. Here, she advocates for treating confidence as a skill that can be built and redefining what we mean by representation
I didn’t expect to hear the same story told in a hundred different voices when I started interviewing Asian women leaders for my podcast, The Tao of Self-Confidence . Yet no matter where they came from or how far they’d risen – c-suite execs, entrepreneurs, scholars – almost every woman shared a moment where she felt like a fraud, like she didn’t deserve her seat at the table and as if her success was sheer luck. That feeling is called imposter syndrome and it’s not just about doubt, it’s also a warning sign that a system isn’t working for everyone. A SKILL,NOT A TRAIT The term “confidence gap” is often used to explain why women don’t reach leadership roles as often or as quickly as men. But we need to ask where that gap comes from. Girls are taught early to be accommodating, not assertive. To aim for perfection, not progress. To be “nice” rather than bold. When we follow those rules, we’re praised. However, if we step out of line, we’re told that we are too much, too ambitious or too loud. For Asian women, these messages are even stronger. In many of our cultures, we’re taught not to question authority, not to seek the spotlight and not to disrupt the status quo. So even when we do succeed, we downplay it. We tell ourselves it was luck. We hide behind
credentials and qualifications instead of owning our value. But here’s what I’ve learned: confidence isn’t born; it’s built. It’s a muscle and like any muscle, it grows when we use it.
for promotions, or shouldering more emotional labour because students are more likely to turn to them for support and representation. Higher education environments are supposed to be incubators for ideas and leadership. But when women are underrepresented, underestimated or constantly scrutinised, it’s no wonder that imposter syndrome takes hold. The issue isn’t that we are not confident; it’s that confidence alone isn’t enough when we’re navigating structures that weren’t designed for us. CONFIDENCE WILL FOLLOW A common myth is that we have to feel confident before we take action, when in reality the opposite is true: confidence follows courage. I didn’t wait until I felt ready to launch a podcast and I didn’t wait until I had a publishing deal before writing a book. I started with what I had, where I was and built the rest along the way. Every “yes” I gave myself, even when I was afraid, chipped away at my doubts. Taking imperfect action is how we grow. Waiting for permission is how we stay stuck. Let’s be honest, imposter syndrome is not an internal flaw. Instead, it’s a logical response to systemic inequality. When you rarely see leaders who look like you, when your ideas are dismissed until a man repeats them, when your emotional labour goes unnoticed; none of these
HIGHER ED: A PLACE OF GROWTH & PRESSURE
In higher education, the pressure to prove yourself can be even more intense. Many female students, as well as those who represent other minority groups, will feel like they have to work twice as hard to be seen as half as capable. Faculty face their own challenges: navigating gender bias in peer reviews, being overlooked “Representation isn’t about putting a woman on a panel or a person of colour in a brochure; it’s about changing the culture
so that different leadership styles, backgrounds and voices are valued”
36 Business Impact • ISSUE 3 • 2025
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