Key Words: Accent Discrimination, Diversity, Ceiling Syndrome
Soji AKOMOLAFE, M S C , P H D
Abstract: Of some of the major types of discrimination, the one that gets the least attention is national origin discrimination and in particular, accent discrimination, especially when it comes to upward mobility in the workplace. Yet, unlike other forms of discrimination, accent discrimination is rarely a subject of any robust public debate. This paper is a modest attempt to help establish a framework for understanding the relative neglect to which the discourse on accent discrimination has been subjected vis-à-vis the overall national debate on diversity. Hopefully, in the process, it will stimulate a more robust conversation on the plight of foreign-accented speakers. .
Key Words: Accent Discrimination, Diversity, …show more content…
Similarly, fifty years ago, the notion of having a black president was just beyond belief while merely three decades ago, it would have been completely unthinkable that a gay person would be named bishop. Regrettably, it is still laughable and beyond even the wildest imagination to think that today, in America, a foreign-accented speaker would be elected or appointed into any of the above positions.
In other words, despite the rhetoric, there is a point beyond which the reality of equality of opportunity ceases to apply for foreign-born Americans. This phenomenon is what has been referred to by Goto (2008) as the glass-ceiling syndrome. The terminology describes a situation where there are high numbers and perhaps overrepresentation of heavily-accented American employees in lower rungs of the organizational ladder
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Soji Akomolafe, MSC, PhD, is Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Akomolafe may be reached at: 757-823-8999 or by E-mail: oakomolafe@nsu.edu. Journal of Cultural Diversity • Vol. 20, No. …show more content…
The law also requires that an employer must show a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the denial of employment opportunity because of an individual 's accent or manner of speaking. In a related issue, requiring employees or applicants to be fluent in English may also violate
Title VII if the rule is adopted to exclude individuals of a particular national origin and is not related to job performance. Unfortunately, in spite of the good intentions that may have prompted the passage of these laws, it has become increasingly clear how difficult it is in reality to enforce them. Indeed, proving national origin or accent discrimination in the workplace is perhaps one of the hardest things to do in a court of law.
The original intent of the statute is to drive employers to focus on qualifications rather than on race, religion, sex, or national origin of the applicant or the employee.
However, as the evidence would demonstrate, the law itself might have inadvertently given to employers the cover they need in ensuring that accent discrimination can be 'safely ' perpetrated in the
Abstract: Of some of the major types of discrimination, the one that gets the least attention is national origin discrimination and in particular, accent discrimination, especially when it comes to upward mobility in the workplace. Yet, unlike other forms of discrimination, accent discrimination is rarely a subject of any robust public debate. This paper is a modest attempt to help establish a framework for understanding the relative neglect to which the discourse on accent discrimination has been subjected vis-à-vis the overall national debate on diversity. Hopefully, in the process, it will stimulate a more robust conversation on the plight of foreign-accented speakers. .
Key Words: Accent Discrimination, Diversity, …show more content…
Similarly, fifty years ago, the notion of having a black president was just beyond belief while merely three decades ago, it would have been completely unthinkable that a gay person would be named bishop. Regrettably, it is still laughable and beyond even the wildest imagination to think that today, in America, a foreign-accented speaker would be elected or appointed into any of the above positions.
In other words, despite the rhetoric, there is a point beyond which the reality of equality of opportunity ceases to apply for foreign-born Americans. This phenomenon is what has been referred to by Goto (2008) as the glass-ceiling syndrome. The terminology describes a situation where there are high numbers and perhaps overrepresentation of heavily-accented American employees in lower rungs of the organizational ladder
A
Soji Akomolafe, MSC, PhD, is Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Akomolafe may be reached at: 757-823-8999 or by E-mail: oakomolafe@nsu.edu. Journal of Cultural Diversity • Vol. 20, No. …show more content…
The law also requires that an employer must show a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the denial of employment opportunity because of an individual 's accent or manner of speaking. In a related issue, requiring employees or applicants to be fluent in English may also violate
Title VII if the rule is adopted to exclude individuals of a particular national origin and is not related to job performance. Unfortunately, in spite of the good intentions that may have prompted the passage of these laws, it has become increasingly clear how difficult it is in reality to enforce them. Indeed, proving national origin or accent discrimination in the workplace is perhaps one of the hardest things to do in a court of law.
The original intent of the statute is to drive employers to focus on qualifications rather than on race, religion, sex, or national origin of the applicant or the employee.
However, as the evidence would demonstrate, the law itself might have inadvertently given to employers the cover they need in ensuring that accent discrimination can be 'safely ' perpetrated in the