Overview

All humans have biases - simplified ways of thinking when we need to process complex information quickly. Accent is no exception: we all have automatic associations with accents. Discrimination arises when we use those to make snap judgments about a person’s professional abilities. In this course we help the learner understand the problem, explore evidence of bias and techniques of how to mitigate bias to avoid poor decision making.

The course is based on the findings of the largest study to date of accent-based discrimination in the UK, led by academics at Queen Mary University of London and the University of York and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The project measured the prevalence of accent bias in the United Kingdom today through large-scale surveys and examined the effects of this bias in professional hiring contexts through more targeted experiments for a subset of accents.

In this course, we present key findings of the project and share tested training interventions that may help employers, managers and HR personnel tackle the effects of accent bias and discrimination in the workplace.

The course unpacks the key terms relating to accent bias and discrimination and looks at the scale and impact of the problem. It goes on to set out the evidence in terms of attitudes (and changing attitudes over time), employer judgements, the impacts in the workplace and the wider effects. The course looks at real examples, tested interventions and crucially how to mitigate through awareness, expertise, confidence and training.

Target Audience

This interactive eLearning course is ideal for all organisations wishing to eliminate accent bias as part of their approach to diversity and staff opportunities.