Speak Up: How Accent Bias Is Affecting Modern-Day Workforces (and 3 actions to take)
A REPRESENTATIVE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE IS WHAT EVERY MODERN-DAY ORGANISATION (SAYS THEY) STRIVES FOR, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT 70% OF UK EMPLOYEES HAVE WORKED IN A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT AT SOME POINT IN THEIR CAREER. IN THIS BLOG, WE’LL BE DELVING INTO AN OFTEN-OVERLOOKED CULTURAL PREJUDICE. THE SUTTON TRUST REVEALED THAT 29% OF SENIOR MANAGERS FROM WORKING CLASS FAMILIES HAVE BEEN MOCKED FOR THEIR ACCENT AT WORK.
As someone with a strong Glaswegian accent, accent bias is a topic close to my heart. Our distinctive Scottish brogue often raises eyebrows or leads to assumptions about our intelligence and background. It's disheartening when people judge us based on our accents, but I've learned that with experience comes the opportunity to try and change the narrative. -- Lily Meyers, The Author
Understanding Accentism
When someone has biases about your abilities or how you are as a person based on your accent, this is called accentism. This can arise in situations like interviews, where first impressions can be critical to career progression. For example, you could be favoured for a role if you’re considered to be more well-spoken, despite being underqualified. Similarly, you could be rejected because you’ve got an accent even though you fit the job specifications.
A poll revealed that 64% of people believed their accent had impacted their employment prospects/success within interviews, with 30% stating their accent has had a negative effect
How Can It Impact Workers?
If a company or team has internal accentism, it can lead to severe consequences for both the employees and the business itself:
EMPLOYEE RETENTION:
If a workplace becomes too toxic to function in, for example if people begin to get excluded or feel bullied, they’ll want to leave. It can also be incredibly off putting to other employees if they see their colleague being mistreated and may want to leave too. In turn, this impacts the employee retention levels.
MISSING OUT ON TALENT:
In the US and UK markets, a talent shortage of 80m is projected by 2030. Limiting your talent pool to those with certain accents, will lead to missing out on valuable talent, stretching hiring timelines and exacerbating the challenges around talent attraction in an already difficult market.
LOSS OF BUSINESS:
Making assumptions about a client or partner due to their accent can lose valuable opportunities for the business, as well as damage reputations and make the company undesirable to work with.
Going into a competitive field with an accent can be incredibly daunting, and from personal experience, it’s almost second nature to try and sound softer spoken. Many a time I’ve had to repeat myself to colleagues which I understand, however when it gets taken a step further into ‘banter’- the line can become very thin on whether to be offended.
Fact: There’s an 87% more chance of better business decisions being made if your team is more diverse.
What The Law States About Accentism
A famous example of accent bias, as well as race discrimination, is the case of Mr Kelly v Hoo Hing Ltd. During working hours, Mr Kelly was subjected to mockery of his accent by is supervisor, saying “well maybe if you slowed down, I might be able to understand what it is you’re trying to say.” Because Mr Kelly is Irish, the same supervisor also danced in a stereotypical Irish fashion- described as “like a leprechaun”.
The employment judge stated that “it would be difficult to argue that mocking somebody by adopting a stereotypical accent and a set of gestures was anything other than inherently discriminatory. We have no hesitation in finding that it was.”
THE JUDGE RULED IN MR KELLY’S FAVOUR, AND HE WON THE CASE.
Unfortunately, the law does not protect all accents from discriminatory behaviour like this. While ethnical and racial accent cases are recognised and accepted, regional accents are not. A claim was made by a Liverpudlian man that he was discriminated against for being scouse, however the claim was dismissed.
What Can Businesses Do?
The hard truth is that biases can never truly be eliminated- however, there are measures that can be put into place to protect employees in an attempt to lower the numbers:
WORK WITH HR:
Because not all accents are protected by the law, it’s important to establish a reliable and trustworthy systems including values, policies and procedures with HR that covers all accents of all employees. This will allow teams to feel safer and more valued in the company.
EDUCATE YOUR TEAMS:
Not everybody is going to understand accentism, and they might not understand the concept of subconscious biases either. This is where you can use “The SEEDS Model”. Similarity, Expedience, Experience, Distance and Safety are all the factors that go into what makes an unconscious bias.
ENSURE A DIVERSE HIRING PANEL:
Using a representative board of interviewers will positively impact who wants to grow within your company. Using people from all backgrounds who have higher positions can give a great example of what's to come for the employees. You may attract more talent by showing you care about their career progression.
CONTINUED DIVERSITY TRAINING:
Thorough and regular training sessions for client facing employees can help to diminish any underlying prejudices. By doing so, you can then adapt your work strategies accordingly to protect future prospects.
Conclusion
Mocking and discriminatory stereotypes should never be accepted and should always be exposed. By putting effort into the strategies to use within your company that help create awareness for accenteism and educating teams, you can protect your employees better. By showing you’re ready to help fight another bias, you become part of the solution as well as improving business outcomes in terms of hiring, retention and bottom line.
