‘My plummy voice held me back at work’
As new research suggests social class can be determined in just seven words, Jessica Fellowes says: oh, really?
The pronunciation of just seven words – in the plummiest accent possible – is all you need to land a job these days. Researchers at Yale University have found that hiring managers immediately make assumptions about candidates’ socioeconomic status as soon as they open their mouths, deeming those from a higher class to be more competent, irrespective of ability.
Another finding which matches eggs that need sucking to grandmothers, you might think, but in my experience a plummy voice goes both ways. I wouldn’t call my own dulcet tones reminiscent of a PG Wodehouse novel but nor can I be coy: there’s no chance you’d hear me on the telephone and assume a childhood spent in Sarf East London. Except you’d be wrong.
The point being that when a contract magazine I was assistant editor of decided that they’d like to take me off the account, my boss at the agency asked them for their reasons. “There’s nothing really wrong with the way Jessica works,” came the reply, “but she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.”
Which made me laugh (though not all the way to the bank: I had to find another job) at how such inverted snobbery had been deemed acceptable – you’d never catch an employer criticising someone for sounding as though they’d been brought up on a council estate. The experience smarted – and my boss was embarrassed when
‘There’s nothing wrong… but she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth’
he reported the comment back – but I didn’t change the way I spoke. There’s nothing that makes me cringe more than hearing a plummy-voiced person try to adopt slang or accents to make them sound more “down with the kids”. The effect is usually the opposite.
Our famous British obsession with class is still well and truly alive, but the question is: what side of the fence are we on? Do we actually like posh people, or not? The question might be moot when our current PM is an Old Etonian – the school has produced 20 prime ministers since 1721 – and two-thirds of his cabinet was privatelyeducated. On the other hand, many parents now say they are wary of choosing Eton or Harrow for their little darlings as there are rumours that certain large companies actively choose not to recruit candidates from those schools.
Martin Tripp, managing director of executive search consultancy Martin Tripp Associates, says the findings are demonstrative of lazy interviewers “who should not be making decisions within two minutes about a candidate’s confidence and values”. Yes, candidates should speak clearly, he adds, but “that’s more to do with mumbling”.
When it comes to an educated sounding voice, the irony is that it’s about more than schooling. Margaret Thatcher, arguably the plummiest voiced of all, went to a grammar school and took elocution lessons to change her diction. Until not too long ago, most actors and television presenters would learn RP to flatten out any hint of a regional dialect. Now, thankfully, our voices on the BBC and elsewhere are regionally diverse, whether presenting the news or a children’s show, reflecting far more accurately the 37 dialects and accents of the nation.
But is there audible class diversity, and does it matter? Haven’t posh people had enough privilege for long enough, walking around like they owned the place (which they generally did) and nabbing all the top jobs? I’m a big believer in allowing the pendulum to swing in the opposite direction before we find the balance in the middle again, so when it comes to accents, perhaps managers should hire more than their share of Eliza Doolittles to redress the balance.
If you’re employing someone and catch yourself favouring the person with the plummiest voice, I’d say you should take pause. Of course, there are several elements of a first impression and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of passing judgment too fast on a candidate that was scruffily dressed or turned up late to the interview. By turns the silver spoon comment has probably made me, as an interviewee, too quick to establish my non-posh credentials so that I don’t get bracketed with the pony-owning club.
We’re trying hard as a society, I like to believe, to ensure that no one is overlooked on the grounds of their sexuality, race or disability. There are legal measures in place to push back those who still hold prejudiced views. We can’t do that with class, obviously. But everyone deserves the chance to explain who they are and how they define themselves beyond just seven words, whether they have plums or glottal stops.