It’s something that’s fixed from roughly the age of 14.
But your accent could be hindering your job prospects, according to a new study.
Researchers from Harvard Business School have uncovered an ‘accent penalty’ in settings where attention determines reach and influence.
For the study, the team analysed more than 5,000 high–profile public TED Talks delivered in English across a range of topics.
Their results uncovered a ‘clear pattern’.
Speakers with foreign accents consistently received less engagement, in the form of views and likes.
‘Importantly, this gap persisted even after adjusting for the content quality, topic, expertise, and visibility of the speakers’ talks,’ the team explained in an article for Harvard Business Review.
‘Put differently, two speakers could deliver equally strong ideas, on equally prominent stages, and still receive meaningfully different levels of attention, simply because one spoke with a “less–standard” accent.’
Speakers with foreign accents consistently receive less engagement, in the form of views and likes
Accents begin developing early in childhood, and are largely set in stone by the age of 14.
While it’s not something you can easily change, previous research has shown that your accent is something you’re judged on.
For example, a study last year by researchers from the University of Cambridge found that people with Cardiff accents are perceived as kind and friendly, while Scousers are seen as seen as likely to cheat on their partners.
In their new study, the Harvard team set out to understand whether or not your accent can impact how engaging you are.
To investigate the relationship between accent and online engagement, the researchers analysed 5,367 TED Talks using voice recognition, natural language processing, and vision models.
The results revealed a ‘sizeable disparity in public discourse’ – with speakers with foreign accents receiving less engagement than those with native accents.
‘Accented speech subtly increases cognitive effort and reduces perceptions of warmth and trustworthiness, which in turn suppress engagement,’ the researchers explained.
Beyond your ability to become a well–received TED Talk speaker, the researchers say the findings could have important implications in organisations.
‘When left unexamined, accent bias may quietly shape whose ideas or contributions are amplified, with downstream consequences for decision quality and organizational learning,’ the explained.
‘While organizations have invested heavily in reducing bias based on gender, race, and appearance, accent remains largely unaddressed – despite being ubiquitous in global teams and leadership pipelines.’
The researchers have several suggestions for how organisations can tackle accent bias, including evaluating ideas through written proposals rather than oral presentations, and designating a single person to read contributions, ensuring ideas are delivered in a common voice.
‘Recognizing and ameliorating this bias is not about lowering standards or privileging some voices over others,’ they added.
‘Rather, it is about ensuring that organizations hear the best ideas, not just the most familiar–sounding ones.’
