STEM Tea | Representation matters: dialects and accents in the workplace
In this episode of the STEM Tea podcast, guests discuss how language discrimination affects non-native English speakers in academia, US laws prohibiting discrimination and how to create more inclusive workspaces.
(From left to right) This episode is moderated by Ella Adjei-Sowah, a graduate student at the University of Rochester (NY, USA) studying nanoparticles as drug delivery methods. She is joined by guests: Haysetta Shuler, a DEI consultant and STEM mentor; Elsie Calderon Spencer, Administrative Director for the National Center for Children and Families at the Teachers College, Columbia University (NY, USA); Estevão Scudese, a researcher at the Laboratory of Biosciences of Human Motricity at the Federal University of State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); and Cicely Wilson, an Associate Professor of Communications at Union University (TN, USA) who studies the lack of research featuring students and scholars of color in the field of communication.
Contents:
- Introduction: 00:00 – 06:05
- Do you believe that language discrimination is a real thing? And have you seen it manifest in the workplace? 06:05 – 08:03
- How are non-native English speakers and those speaking English with an accent coping with discrimination? 08:03 – 08:38
- What laws specifically prohibit discrimination against non-native English-speaking persons who are applying for jobs? 08:38 – 10:58
- What can employers do to avoid discrimination of the language variety? 10:58 – 12:01
- Why is American-English grammar critical for non-native English speakers? 12:01 – 13:35
- Closing thoughts: 13:35 – 14:10
- What’s the tea? 14:10 – 15:29
- Social media handles: 15:29 –16:15
- Ella Adjei-Sowah @easa_me
- Haysetta Shuler @PStrengthen
- Elsie Spencer @Elsielacubana
- Estevão Scudese @DrScudese
- Cicely Wilson – @Cicely (York) Wilson, Ph.D.
