One in ten Brits say accent bias has held back their career
Poll finds 10% of Brits say accent bias has held back their career, with many altering their speech at work.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new poll has found that one in ten people in Britain believe their accent has held them back at work, either by blocking promotion or a pay rise. The research, carried out by More in Common, suggests that accent bias remains a significant issue in the workplace, despite many firms now actively promoting recruitment of employees with a range of accents.
The polling, which covered England, Scotland and Wales, found that 5% of respondents said their accent had cost them a promotion, pay rise or senior role. It also revealed that 13% of those polled admitted changing the way they speak in order to fit in at work. This figure rose to 23% for people with an East London Cockney accent and 20% for Scottish speakers.
Regional differences were also stark. People with a West Country accent reported the highest rate of having their accent mocked or criticised by colleagues, at 15%, closely followed by Geordies at 13%. The findings were discussed by a group of young people from across Britain, who shared their own experiences. One student from Manchester said she felt her accent sounded "less intellectual" than others in seminars, while another said she adapts her accent depending on where she is in the country to avoid assumptions about her intelligence or background.
The issue is not just about personal discomfort. Laura Newman, who has started a community interest company called Common Ground, is working to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds forge careers in the built environment, such as architecture or estate agency. She said the problem is about unblocking pathways and giving people "the rules of the game", adding that "you kind of do have to speak a specific way".
While the poll shows that many people feel the need to change their accent to get ahead, it also highlights a growing awareness of the problem. The research suggests that accent bias remains a real barrier for large numbers of workers, even as companies try to increase diversity. The findings underline the need for employers to look beyond how someone sounds and focus on what they can do.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A survey reported that a minority of people in Britain believe accent bias affects their career progression, and some have changed their accent to fit in at work. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel focused on the human impact of accent bias, using personal stories from young people and a social enterprise founder to illustrate the polling data. It gave specific regional breakdowns and highlighted the emotional and practical consequences of feeling judged by how one speaks.
- “I think people use it as a shorthand for class and background”
- “It's not one-off intervention It's not about bringing them for one bit of work experience tick box exercises. It is about a genuine network for life”
- “You kind of do have to speak a specific way”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.