The problem of “accent bias” has not gone away in the UK, according to research that says many people with working-class or regional English accents fear their careers might suffer because of how they speak.
Researchers who surveyed thousands of Britons found that young people from the north of England and the Midlands were much more likely to be concerned that their accent would count against them, compared with people from the south of England (other than London).
One 18-year-old from the West Midlands told researchers: “I don’t want to change my accent but I am convinced I need to do so before I can go to [university] or be employed.
“I am never made to feel this way locally but on field trips or holidays I am constantly expected to be shamed or mocked for my accent.”
The report – Speaking Up – concludes that employers need to actively ensure that accent bias is taken seriously and does not become a proxy for other forms of discrimination.
Among adults in the survey, 25% said their accents had been mocked or criticised at work, while 47% of university students and 46% of adults said their accents had been singled out or mocked in social situations.
About 44% of sixth-formers from the north of England said their accent had been criticised or highlighted, compared with 30% in Scotland and 24% in the south of England.
The study also said public perceptions of accents had not changed over the past 50 years, with received pronunciation, sometimes known as BBC English or “the Queen’s English”, rated as the most prestigious accent in 2019, as it had been in similar surveys in 1969.
Both surveys ranked African-Caribbean and Indian accents alongside those from Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham as the least prestigious.
Prof Devyani Sharma, of Queen Mary University London, the author of the report, said the results showed that a hierarchy of “accent prestige” remained in British society, and needed to be tackled by employers.
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“Accent-based discrimination actively disadvantages certain groups at key junctures for social mobility, such as job interviews,” she said.
“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.”
Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, which sponsored the research, said: “It is disgraceful that people are mocked, criticised or singled out for their accents throughout their education, work and social lives.”