Imposter syndrome as a minority in the tech and design world

It’s no secret that the technology and design industry lacks racial and gender diversity. This is especially true when we look at statistics around black and female representation in graphic design and software development roles. Black individuals make up 3% of graphic designers and 4.3% of computer programmers. Women of all races make up less than 1/4th of computer programmers in the US — a statistic that has definitely improved over the years, but is still quite low.

There are many reasons for this, but Anthony D. Mays, a Software Engineer at Google, touches on another significant roadblock that minorities face in greater numbers:

“I remember being approached by Google…there was a recruiter on campus that wanted me to apply for an internship, and I remember looking at the pamphlet like…Y’all don’t want no black man from Compton, former foster kid working at Google. And I certainly had never seen black people perceived as software engineers in movies and in tv shows, so I just didn’t have the notion of what it would look like for me to work at a place like Google.”

“Imposter syndrome” is a common issue amongst most professional workers, but especially prevalent when you’re also an underrepresented minority. It’s intimidating exploring a new career field or starting a new role in a higher position, and if there is a significant lack of peers who look like you and have experienced similar challenges as you — it can be extremely hard to see what success looks like for you in that role.

“I felt like I saw other kids whose parents were engineers, doctors and lawyers. My parents weren’t those things. It took me a while to understand that I was just different, not necessarily any better or worse than my peers.”

Kimberly Bryant, a successful electrical engineer and the founder of Black Girls CODE, explains similar challenges to Anthony D. Mays.

“…I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me. While we shared similar aspirations and many good times, there’s much to be said for making any challenging journey with people of the same cultural background.”

So, how do minorities in the tech and design industry go from feeling like an imposter in an unfamiliar land to having confidence in their skillset and embracing the unknown?

Find a mentor and be a mentor.

I’m an introvert. It’s intimidating to think about seeking out a mentor let alone having to talk to someone regularly about challenges and opportunities — but mentorship is one of the most effective methods to further education, get hired and get promoted as a minority. Regularly connecting with a mentor is also proven to increase confidence and gradually stifle the imposter syndrome mindset.

A 2016 Harvard Business Review survey found that company mentor programs can organically make leadership more diverse and increase female and minority representation.

Some of the largest increases in leadership positions were amongst black women (18%) and hispanic women (23%).

Okay — but, what if your company doesn’t have a mentor program?

My initial reaction when joining the tech industry was to reach out to my heroes. Who are some badass designers that can help pull me up to where they are? I quickly found out that my heroes just don’t have time to mentor me. They don’t know me. They don’t know my journey or potential — and mentoring can be a decent amount of work.

So I’ve found it more productive and rewarding to seek mentorship from those who I work with or know personally.

Your mentor doesn’t need to be within the same industry as you, either. Are they a strong leader that you admire? Great! They can help you become more confident in who you are and where you want to go.

Mentorship is also a two-way street. Being a mentor molds you into a better leader, and if you choose to mentor underrepresented STEM students, you’re contributing to the future of greater diversity in those career fields. YOU are the great example of a minority leader that the future generation needs (even if you don’t feel like you are).

Seek out other underrepresented individuals within your industry and support each other.

Lack of representation in the workforce can spark waves of minority imposter syndrome. This is obviously a larger problem that takes time to solve — but by actively seeking out and connecting with people who face similar obstacles, the feeling of imposter syndrome can start to fade away when you realize that you are, in fact, not alone.

Maurice Cherry, a designer and thought-leader in New York, is doing just that. He asked an honest question during his talk at SXSW in 2015, “Where are the black designers?”

It’s a simple question with a complex answer, but Maurice chose to find those black designers and thought-leaders and lift them up into the spotlight.

His podcast, Revision Path, highlights black digital creatives and developers from around the world. He also founded “Recognize” — a curation of essays and commentary from indigenous people and people of color in the design industry.

The list goes on and on, and through his efforts, Maurice is helping other minorities in the industry recognize that they are not imposters within a white-washed tech world.

It’s important to identify that you belong in this industry and that you have just as much say as everyone else. It’s a journey to get to that point, but connecting with others of similar circumstances will help build that confidence.

Make self-love a priority.

It’s so easy to identify your faults and recount the mistakes you’ve made. We all do it, regardless of race or gender. As a minority, though, it always feels like more is on the line when going through life.

“If I don’t do well at my job, I’m letting down my entire family who never went to college.”

“If I make the wrong decision, my manager will regret hiring me over that white guy with the Masters degree.”

“If I underperform, they’ll forever see me as the lazy [insert race here] stereotype.”

What we don’t remind ourselves of is the little and big achievements along the way. Failure is a part of life, but most of the time, we have achieved way more than we have failed.

What if we re-word these statements?

“I’m qualified to do this job.”

“It’s okay to be wrong. That’s how we all learn.”

“I need a break if I feel overworked. Work/life balance is important.”

I understand that’s not easy to do, but by re-wording your anxieties a little bit at a time you will begin to change your line of thinking for the better.

One colleague of mine would put up different post-it notes every week under her computer monitor. One week a post-it would be very specific, “You graduated college and were HIRED in under one month!” Another week it would be more general, “You are powerful! You are important!”

This is such a beautiful example of how to subtly remind yourself that you are and can be successful and important to your coworkers, family and friends — even if you don’t feel like it. Imposter syndrome is a sneaky beast and it’s often difficult to identify that you’re gradually tearing your own self down.

Anthony D. Mays did it, “…Y’all don’t want no black man from Compton, former foster kid working at Google.” He was only in college and already told himself Google wasn’t an option. Obviously he was wrong, and has worked at Google for over six years now.

Remind yourself daily, hourly, that YOU matter and you’re where you are for a reason (even if that reason is unknown to you at the moment).

—

I graduated with a Bachelor’s in graphic design surrounded by a class of majority women. I felt confident, empowered and intelligent…until I began to explore UX and UI design.

It was a world I was completely unfamiliar with. Now I was learning to communicate regularly with highly technical and majority male developers and product managers. I was not taught this in school and imposter syndrome overwhelmed me as I worked to prove to others that I was meant for this new role. That I had so much potential. I was worried they would see past my well-spoken demeanor and discover a scared little girl attempting to be like the big boys.

That’s when I made the jump and joined a women’s UX design meetup group. From there on out, very gradually, my imposter syndrome began to fade and my focus turned from what others thought about me to learning the most that I could about a subject I was passionate about alongside a group of other strong female designers.

I still suffer from imposter syndrome and have been called out many times by my mentor when I start to doubt who I am and where I am in life. It’s an ongoing battle, especially in a world where, unfortunately, there are still those who are racist or sexist. What’s important is that you surround yourself with a network of like-minded support and remind yourself every day that you are capable of such great things. No matter your race. No matter your gender. No matter your past.