Accents Are Still A Major Barrier To Success, Survey Finds

Regional accents are still a major barrier to success in Britain, according to a new survey.

Almost a third of university students say they have been mocked or criticized because of their accent, with a quarter of professionals saying their accent has caused issues at work, with many fearing it could impede their careers.

And the findings demonstrate the endurance of regional and class-based prejudice, with working class professionals and young people from the North of England significantly more likely to be singled out for the way they talk.

“Accent-based discrimination actively disadvantages certain groups at key junctures for social mobility, such as job interviews,” says report author Professor Devyani Sharma from Queen Mary University London.

“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.”

Higher education seems to be a hotbed of bias, with 30% of university students and 29% of applicants saying they had been mocked, criticized or singled out because of their accent.

And students from the North of England were most likely to feel their accent would hold them back: 41% of students from the North and 29% of applicants feared their accent could affect their ability to succeed, compared with 19% of students and 10% of applicants from the South of England.

Britain has some of the most diverse regional accents in the English-speaking world, but these are often grouped in a hierarchy, with so-called Received Pronunciation, or Queen’s or BBC English seen as the most prestigious, along with national accents: Scots and Irish, or American or French-accented English.

Accents associated with the industrial Midlands and North of England, as well as those associated with ethnic minorities, such as Afro-Caribbean and Indian accents, are seen as less prestigious.

One student, from Lancashire in North-West England, told researchers: “My accent was described as ‘aggressive’ and ‘uneducated’ in tutorials. When I assert myself my accent was mocked as I struggle to suppress it when I am emotional.”

Another student, also from Lancashire, said they consciously tried to minimize their accent to avoid being mocked, adding: “I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I was persistently overlooked and underestimated due to my accent.”

Bias against certain accents continues into the workplace, with a quarter of professionals reporting being mocked, criticized or singled out because of their accent.

And the fear that their accent can hold them back persists: 21% of those in senior managerial roles from working-class backgrounds worried that their accent could impede their ability to succeed, compared with just 12% from more affluent backgrounds.

“It is disgraceful that people are mocked, criticised or singled out for their accents throughout their education, work and social lives,” said Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust charity which commissioned the research.

“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,” he added.

Among the report ‘s recommendations are that recruiters and university admissions tutors should undergo training to reduce accent bias, and emphasize the importance of diversity in higher education and the workplace.