Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Cognosante founder Michele Kang pledges $50 million to training and educating female athletes, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says moving the world to a low-carbon economy will cost $3 trillion a year, and data exclusive to Fortune shows that men are experiencing more imposter syndrome than women at work. Have a great Tuesday!
- Spot the imposter. We often hear about how men apply to jobs they're not qualified for. The most commonly cited stat is that a man will apply to a role if he meets 60% of the requirements, while a woman will only apply if she meets 100%. Often, this comes up in the context of urging women to put themselves forward for a wider variety of positions.
But what if there are other consequences to the application gap? According to new data from organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, there may be. Sixty-two percent of men report feeling imposter syndrome at work, the firm found, compared to just 46% of women.
"We've heard before how many more men are comfortable applying for jobs that they might not be totally qualified for," explains Jane Stevens, Korn Ferry vice chair for board and CEO services. "It makes sense that women would feel more comfortable in their roles and experience less feelings of imposter syndrome."
Imposter syndrome, defined as a difficulty to believe your success is earned or that you're good enough for your role, increases with an employee's rank; 71% of CEOs and 65% of senior executives said they felt it, compared to 33% of early-stage workers. Imposter syndrome is a different question than competence; 82% of employees, both male and female, agreed they are competent in their roles.
Often, the conversation about imposter syndrome feels exclusive to women; women are often more open about discussing those feelings as they rise the ranks. The new data shows that the opposite may, in fact, be true, and men just aren't talking about it.
The mountains women have to climb to get to the top (90% of Fortune 500 CEOs are still men) could also mean that they're more secure by the time they finally get there. "Women just don’t get as many chances to lead companies compared to men," Stevens says. "Women have to build their confidence in themselves more independently and stand on their own more consistently because they don’t get as many chances to lead."
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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