Almost half of employees have had their accent mocked, criticised or singled out in a social setting, while a quarter said this treatment has taken place in a work situation, according to research. The Sutton Trust’s Speaking Up report examines the impact that someone’s accent has on their journey through education and into the workplace, based on the experiences of sixth-formers, university students and professionals.
It found that a person’s region of origin – particularly the north of England and the Midlands – plays an important part in accent anxiety in earlier life stages. Later, in the mid-life stage of professional employment, social class differences are more prominent.
30% of university students and 29% of university applicants reported having been mocked, criticised or singled out in educational settings due to their accents, while this was also experienced by 25% of professionals in work situations. Employees reported higher levels of being mocked or singled out for their accent in a social setting (46%), with 40% of university applicants reporting the same and just under half of all university students (47%).
The research found that at all life stages, those from lower social grades report significantly more mocking or singling out in the workplace and social settings because of their accent. For both university applicants and university students, those originally from the north of England were the most likely to be concerned their accent could affect their ability to succeed in the future – 29% of university applicants and 41% at university from the north versus 10% and 19% respectively for those in the south, excluding London.
For those in senior managerial roles from lower socio-economic backgrounds, 21% were worried their accent could affect their ability to succeed in the future, compared to 12% from better-off families. Similarly, 29% of senior managers from working class families said they had been mocked in the workplace for their accent versus 22% from a better off background.
The report said public attitudes to different accents have remained largely unchanged over time, with the standard received pronunciation accent, French-accented English, and “national” standard varieties (Scottish, American, Southern Irish) all ranked highly. It said accents associated with industrial cities of England, like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham – commonly stereotyped as “working class accents” – and ethnic minority accents (Afro-Caribbean, Indian) are the lowest ranked.
In its recommendations for employers, the report said: “It is normal for humans to have stereotypical associations with accents. “However, if left unchecked, these biases and stereotypes can be used to judge independent skills and abilities, leading to discriminatory behaviour.
“If gate-keepers favour candidates for reasons of prestige rather than merit, this can lead to a vicious circle, whereby non-traditional candidates are discriminated against, reducing their visibility in elite contexts and further marginalising their accent.”
The report said employers should aim to have a range of accents within their organisation, and action to tackle accent bias should be seen as an important diversity issue in the workplace. In advice for students and employees, the report said it is best to avoid focusing excessively on accent modification, and instead focus on subject knowledge and confident public speaking.
Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said the research provides new evidence on the major role that accents play in social mobility. “It is disgraceful that people are mocked, criticised or singled out for their accents throughout their education, work and social lives.
“A hierarchy of accent prestige is entrenched in British society with BBC English being the dominant accent of those in positions of authority. This is despite the fact that less than 10% of the population have this accent.
“Self-consciousness and anxiety about accent bias are present at all stages of life.
“For instance of those in senior managerial roles, 22% from lower socio-economic backgrounds were worried that their accent could affect their ability to succeed, in comparison to 12% from better-off families. In order to address accent bias, today’s report recommends that action should be taken to diversify the workplace so that there is a range of accents within the organisation,” he said.
Professor Devyani Sharma from Queen Mary University London, author of the report, said the research shows that “a long-standing hierarchy of accent prestige” in Britain is still in place. She said: “Accent-based discrimination actively disadvantages certain groups at key junctures for social mobility, such as job interviews.
“This creates a negative cycle, whereby regional, working class, and minority ethnic accents are heard less in some careers or positions of authority, reinforcing anxiety and marginalisation for those speakers.
“It is natural for people to associate accents with social groups, but relying on accent stereotypes to judge professional ability in this way is discriminatory.”
For the research, 511 university applicants (largely 17-18 year olds) were surveyed, as well as 1,029 university students, 1,014 early-career professionals and 1,002 later career professionals.
Man who changed accent to fit in was asked if he was from ‘desolate wasteland’
A man from Stockport who changed the way he spoke to fit in at university said he was once asked if his home town was “one of those desolate wastelands where the factories used to be”.
Ben Jones, 28, now a senior leader at a school in Bolton, became aware of how his accent influenced people’s first impressions of him when he arrived for freshers’ week at university.
The Sutton Trust’s Speaking Up report, which examines the impact that someone’s accent has on their journey through education and into the workplace, said public attitudes to different accents have remained largely unchanged over time, with the standard received pronunciation accent, French-accented English, and “national” standard varieties (Scottish, American, Southern Irish) all ranked highly.
It said accents associated with industrial cities of England, such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham – commonly stereotyped as “working class accents” – and ethnic minority accents (Afro-Caribbean, Indian) are the lowest ranked.
Ben Jones became aware of how his accent influenced people’s first impressions of him when he arrived for freshers’ week at university (Sutton Trust/PA)
Mr Jones said: “I was hyper-aware of my accent at university. It is certainly something that people judge you on, they assume that it means you are not well-educated or cultured.
“The minute you open your mouth – literally – you have a disadvantage.
“Someone I had just met once asked me whether my home town was one of those desolate wastelands where the factories used to be.
“All this ultimately led me to modify the way I spoke at university to fit in.”
Katie Zacharczuk, 26, a solicitor who was born and raised in Liverpool, said it was quite a “culture shock” when she went to university as she had never really been around people who did not talk like her.
She said she was worried about judged as being “less intelligent” or “not as valuable to an organisation”, but she has never changed her accent and has never felt like she needed to, adding that she feels accepted for the way she speaks.
Katie Zacharczuk, a solicitor who was born and raised in Liverpool, said it was a “culture shock” when she went to university as she had never really been around people who did not talk like her (Sutton Trust/PA)
“I would encourage students to not change the way they speak because that’s an integral part of who you are as a person, the journey you’ve been on and the experiences that you’ve had,” she said.
Here are comments from people from various places who took part in the research for the report.
Student experiences:
– Northern Irish student
“I want to go into academic research and I am scared even with a more ‘posh’ regional accent I would be hindered.”
– Scottish student
“Medicine feels very elitist, and my working class Scottish accent will not fit that narrative.”
– Derbyshire student
“I am at medical school and very few doctors I have met have regional accents.”
– Liverpool student
“I don’t hear my accent when I watch videos of scientists giving talks and I don’t hear my accent from lecturers in the field. I feel as though my work won’t be taken seriously if I don’t change my accent.”
– Cockney, age 18
“It is not something I feel insecure about, however, I know that others with similar accents to myself do. I also believe that it is a disgrace that people should be ashamed to speak in the native accent.”
– Black Country, age 19
“For a couple of weeks, I did have a group of other students mimic an extreme version of a Black Country accent every time I spoke (about anything).”
– Newcastle student
“A lot of times people mock my accent, but that doesn’t particularly bother me. At interviews, I remember one boy from London asking a large group of people if they could “actually understand [my] accent”, which was pretty awful and not a nice first impression of university.”
Law and civil service experiences:
– Liverpudlian
“In a work context I was told ‘Ha, you’re not a typical civil servant, are you?'”
– Nigerian
“I am glad you are raising awareness of this issue. Because a major problem we have is that, if we experience accent bias and raise the concern with our managers, we are seen as troublemakers.”
– Received Pronunciation
“I hate to admit it, but I’m sure that almost every week my assessment of people I have only just met is affected by their accent. I will assume that someone with a posh accent is better educated, more intelligent and reliable than someone with a less smart accent. I should emphasise that I don’t think it’s right to do this, it’s just one of a series of snap judgments I make about people I meet.”
Teacher experiences:
– Edinburgh
“The accent I most see criticised by students is South Asian, and I see students in London giving those teachers a hard time. I have seen students make fun of teachers with West African accents, and bully teachers with Eastern European accents. And I have seen my colleagues be incredibly disparaging towards women with working class Essex accents.”
– South London
“I felt as though in school people would be able to tell I was poor from the way I spoke so I changed the way that I spoke to try and sound less common.”
– West Midlands
“My accent became a lot milder once I left home and the area I grew up in. It is not considered a socially acceptable accent. As a result my accent has been neutralised.”
– Stoke-on-Trent
“My accent and its depiction in national media is very heavily related to social class and social deprivation. It is an accent that makes people sound ‘thick’ and ‘poor’ and these are enormous barriers, reinforced by the mainstream media and its depiction of places like Stoke-on Trent and the people who live here.”
– Southern Irish, on whether she has encountered discrimination
“In a meeting with management or other teachers. Never in the classroom with the students. The multicultural students I teach understand my accent perfectly and never mock me.”
– Estuary English
“My accent comes from my family and my community. To ask me to modify it is to ask me to deny my heritage. I have learned in this accent and have taught with this accent. I can demonstrate other accents – and have taught in standard English for the sake of pronunciation in ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes, but I will not code switch for some classist outdated concept of elitism. It’s my least favourite thing about living in England.”
