Women in Tech Have to Work Harder to Prove Their Worth

According to TrustRadius, women are more likely than men to feel that they have to work harder than their coworkers to prove their worth. 

In fact, 78% of women feel like they have to work harder to prove their worth at work. Only 54% of men say the same. 

Across all job levels, women feel more pressure to prove themselves. But the phenomenon is even more pronounced among those in leadership positions. Women who are VPs, C-level, or CEOs are especially likely to feel this pressure. For men, the opposite is true. 

Last year, TrustRadius found that women were 22% more likely than men to experience imposter syndrome at work. Imposter syndrome is the feeling of being underqualified and out of place compared to your colleagues. As a result, some women put in extra work or extra hours to compensate. 

There’s another way to look at the relationship between imposter syndrome and needing to prove your worth. Even women who are perfectly confident in their abilities can experience the pressure to outperform their male coworkers in order to earn equal recognition and opportunities. 

Lack of trust in their abilities from managers and executives — and seeing no clear path forward — are major concerns for women struggling to grow their careers in the tech industry.