Accent bias remains a problem in law
Barriers remain for lawyers without ‘received pronunciation’ or southern accents | Survey finds that many are told to soften accents to “fit in”.
The favouring of stereotypically ‘posh’ voices within the legal profession is a barrier to both the entry and career progression of many talented newcomers, research has found.
Academics from Nottingham Trent University and De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) published a year-long research project examining attitudes to accents, today, January 30.
Upper class privilege
According to the research, ingrained prejudices represent a barrier to career progression for people without 'Received Pronunciation'(RP), the tone associated with upper class accents or BBC English.
The team created a recording of a defence closing speech delivered by male speakers with different English regional accents and someone speaking with RP.
They asked members of the public to listen to the recordings and rate the speakers against criteria including clarity, confidence, intelligence and professionalism. They were also asked to score the extent to which they thought the speaker was likely to be a lawyer, and how likely they would be to be represented by them.
More than 80% of people said they would be comfortable or very comfortable being represented by lawyers with RP or South Eastern accents, but fewer than 20% stated the same about someone with a West Midlands or South West accent.
Negative experiences
Researchers also conducted interviews with members of the profession and students to find out their experiences.
One participant said a judge had commented he needed to lose his Northern accent if he wanted to practise, and many informed the team they were told to “soften” their accents to fit in.
The research team was led by Nottingham Trent University’s professor of linguistics professor Natalie Braber, and involved associate professor in law Jeremy Robson of DMU, who is also a practising barrister.
Commenting on the findings, Robson said: “From dealing with students who are thinking of entering the profession, I know that their perception is that their accent will be an obstacle to their progression.”
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