A lot of people are facing unemployment or career stagnation owing to their accents irrespective of their intelligence. In 2019 a study by Queen Mary University found that 76% of employers admit to making discriminating decisions during the recruitment process owing to accents. Likewise, 55% of the 2,003 people who participated in a poll conducted by Equality Group believed that regional accents acted as a barrier to securing graduate corporate jobs, especially in London while another study found that 28% of Brits feel that they have to modify their accents so as to get on in life. Accents can also be used to determine the pace at which individuals progress in their different careers. The lazy stereotypes around accents mean that a lot of people feel highly pressurised to modify their accents so as to gain employment or progress their career.
Intersectionality which is the interlinked nature of social categorisation such as race, class and gender, means that people are already having to deal with other elements of discrimination, this makes it arduously difficult to bear the extra burdens of accent discrimination. A strong accent is often a strong indicator of belonging to a particular socioeconomic or racial grouping, those in the lower socio-economic spectrum are disproportionately impacted by accent focused discrimination. Despite the overwhelming evidence, accents are not a protected characteristic and there is no organisational policy that provides additional employment protection to regional and foreign speakers in the workspace. This means that cases of accentism are not being reported as there is no specific procedure put in place to facilitate and oversee the process. Furthermore, the legislation now requires that employers report on purpose, employee engagement and culture. However, accents are not one of the things that are being measured, allowing for the undercurrent of accent discrimination in the workspace.
