Need some inspiration?

Check out these amazing Mathematiciennes:

Moira Chas,    Joan Birman,    Candice Price,    Sofya Kovalevskaya,    Sherilyn Tamagawa,    Maryam Mirzakhani,    Allison Henrich,    Moon Duchin,    Priyam Patel,    Emmy Noether,    Susan Gerofsky,    Michelle Chu,    Karen Uhlenbach,    Tara Brendle,    Ami E. Radunskaya,    Ruth Charney,    Sarah Mason,   Marissa Loving,   Radmila Sazdanovic,    Marcy Roberston,   Sophie Germain,    Katherine Johnson

Imposter Syndrome

“I don’t belong here.”   “I must have gotten accepted by accident.”  “I just got lucky to pass that test.”  ” I’m not a real mathematician.”   “I’m a fraud.”  “Maybe I somehow convinced everyone that I’m smart, but I’m really not.”

Do you relate to any of theses statements? You probably suffer from imposter syndrome. I most certainly suffer from imposter syndrome.

Impostor syndrome  is a concept describing individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Here is a link to more information about this syndrome.

Here is a GREAT video about imposter syndrome that I highly recommend watching.

Many successful people suffer from imposter syndrome, particularly women in math, especially women of color. It is hard to say exactly why we feel this way, but part of the cause is affirmative action. As a woman, it can be an easy trap to think “I’m just here because they needed to accept x-number of women to the program, not because I actually deserve to be here based on merit.”

Association for Women in Math (AWM)

AWM is a great organization dedicated to promoting the success of women in math. Here is a link to their website.