Questioning your worth. Feeling inadequate or like a fraud. An intense fear of failure. Many of us, sadly, know all too well what imposter syndrome feels like – and just how much of a mental toll it can take, particularly in the workplace.

Last year, a KPMG study found that 75% of female executives across industries have experienced imposter syndrome in their careers, including self-doubt that makes them continuously concerned if they are qualified enough for the job. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that new research has confirmed that women do experience impostor syndrome more frequently and intensely than men. 

By combining data from over 100 studies, researchers from California State University, Fresno, found a clear trend: women consistently score higher on measures of imposter syndrome. 

The concept, initially termed “imposter phenomenon” by psychologists Clance and Imes in 1978, describes the feelings of fraudulence experienced by highly successful people – who also often attribute their achievements to luck or external factors rather than their abilities. Clance and Imes also originally suggested that women are more likely to experience this phenomenon due to societal stereotypes about gender and intelligence. However, subsequent research has produced mixed results, with some studies finding significant gender differences and others finding none.

But despite this, the new data shines a much-needed light on the distinctly gendered experience of imposter syndrome. “When we combined the results of over 100 studies that compared levels of imposter phenomenon between women and men, there is clearly a difference with women tending to score higher on average,” study author Paul C Price, a professor of psychology, explained. “The difference is what psychologists might refer to as small to medium, but it is very consistent and similar in magnitude to gender differences in related variables like self-esteem and narcissism.”

However, despite the consistent gender difference, it remains unclear how this impacts women’s success and wellbeing compared to men’s. After all, tall-poppy syndrome is very real, and concerning data suggests that more than 1 in 3 women don’t feel confident in their career prospects.

“It is common to assume that men’s lower levels of the impostor phenomenon are somehow more appropriate and that something should be done to bring women’s levels in line with men’s. But given that a certain amount of self-doubt is probably beneficial in many contexts, having a bit more of it may not be a bad thing,” explained Price.

As of right now, though, there is nothing to show that gender differences in the imposter phenomenon have consequences in terms of women’s success and wellbeing compared to men’s.

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