International Women’s Day - Tamika Hull
International Women’s Day (IWD) marks an opportunity to celebrate the achievement of women and the call of action to accelerate gender parity. In light of the global challenges we are living through, celebrating women’s achievements in the face of adversity is as pertinent as ever before. The theme for IWD 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge, making me consider a challenge women regularly face and how we can choose to challenge this.
Imposter syndrome is a challenge that permeates through any industry and any workplace. The built environment industry is no exception to this bitter truth. It is a very real and very valid barrier to both entering and growing within the industry, especially for women. Choosing to challenge this is essential to achieving the goal of making the industry as representative of the communities it serves.
Imposter syndrome breeds where representation is lacking. What this means for the industry is that a culture exists where women, due to systemic oppression, have limiting beliefs over their own professional ability because they do not see themselves occupying senior positions. Representation is a critical element to improving accessibility as the ability for women to know their worth and potential is instantly mobilised.
However, improved diversity and representation is not going to happen overnight, nor is it the panacea to all structural challenges women will face in their careers. It takes confidence and grit to challenge the status quo of a system that is not built for you. In the meantime, as work is done to dismantle that system, there are more accessible ways that women can grow in the industry and battle against imposter syndrome.
Network, network, network is something I am constantly told. This advice falls on deaf ears; the prospect of networking can be daunting as I grapple with my own doubts and insecurities. I would advise women entering the industry (and those wishing to grow within it) to not only grow their network but to empower their network. The writer and social-activist Alice Walker said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Imposter syndrome allows women to lose sight of their power. An empowered network can help to build you up professionally and personally and challenge acts of personal disempowerment as you are encouraged to realise your own power and potential.
Critiquing the pervasiveness of imposter syndrome is not to pass the blame onto women, accusing them of not occupying senior positions due to a lack of confidence in one’s own ability. This is not our fault. This is a by-product of the system. However, now is a better time than any to #ChooseToChallenge the imposter syndrome society has engrained in us all. In challenging that, we can unite and empower each other to be confident in our ability, in turn creating a professional culture that welcomes a diverse range of women into the industry and therefore an industry that can be as diverse and representative as the communities it serves.
