Workplace accentism as a postcolonial and intersectional phenomenon: The experiences of Brazilians in Portugal

Abstract

What insights can postcolonialism and decoloniality offer into workplace accentism? Drawing upon these two strands of literature, this article contributes to workplace research through proposing a view of accentism as an intersectional phenomenon, rooted in the historically sedimented unequal social structure and relations formed during the colonial past. Based on a qualitative study of Brazilians in Portugal, we identify two forms of workplace accentism experienced by the participants: (1) overt accentism – which involves an explicit, direct reference to a person’s accent; and (2) accent-activated stigmatisation – which occurs upon the listener’s realisation that the speaker is a member of a particular group (specifically, nationality). We theorise the experiences of accentism as contemporary manifestations of the workings of colonial power and prejudices. In addition, we distinguish between four approaches to managing workplace accentism: suppressing, confronting, marginalising and exiting. We theorise these as contemporary expressions of resistance strategies historically used by the colonised in response to colonial power. We also highlight the intersectional differences – along the axes of class, race and gender – with regard to individuals’ deployment of each of these approaches. The article enriches our knowledge about how colonial power relations continue to underpin discrimination and its consequences throughout the global economy.

Accent modification and workplace accentism: the institutionalization of linguistic profiling and its career implications

“…Therefore, future studies could explore the negative cognitive effects of accentism on marginalized jobseekers and workers, which would also have the purpose of helping these participants separate their accents from notions of professional competence. Furthermore, while SCCT has detailed how systems of oppression such as racism negatively affect perceptions of self-efficacy and career opportunities, not enough attention has been paid to the linguistic dimensions of these types of oppression ( Sliwa et al, 2023;Yakushko et al, 2008). Workplace accentism persists because accent is framed as a professional obligation or task rather than a site of oppression.…”

“…It is important to note that this type of accentism is not created in a vacuum. Instead, it is produced by various sociohistorical and political processes (Hegarty, 2020; Śliwa et al. , 2023).…”

“…It is important to note that this type of accentism is not created in a vacuum. Instead, it is produced by various sociohistorical and political processes (Hegarty, 2020;Sliwa et al, 2023). Indeed, nativeness and non-nativeness in English are not objective linguistic designations, but rather, products of colonization.…”