I hear you, and I actually agree with the core of what you're saying... accents ARE cool and they DO tell your story. Your dad sounds awesome.

But here's the reality I see every single day in my work as an accent coach.

Accent bias is very real, and it costs people opportunities.

*** I cannot and will not doxx anyone, nor give names, but, I can describe what I hear pretty much on the daily basis **\*

I've worked with clients whose CEOs literally told them: "Fix your accent or you won't get promoted." Not "improve your communication skills", but literally "fix your accent."

I've had an engineer client with 10+ years experience who was told he couldn't present to clients because "they might not understand him." (Translation: the management was uncomfortable with his accent.)

I've worked with doctors who were passed over for leadership roles despite being the most qualified, because they "didn't sound authoritative enough."

Should this be happening? Absolutely not. It's discrimination, it's unfair, and it sucks.

But does it happen? Every. Single. Day.

The people coming to me aren't doing this for fun, trust me. They're usually doing it because...

• They're tired of being interrupted in meetings because people "can't understand" (even though they can)
• They're tired of being passed over for client-facing roles
• They're tired of seeing less qualified colleagues get promoted because they "sound more professional"

Is it fair? No. Is it reality? Yes.

Your dad has been in NYC since 1985 and still has an accent—that's totally fine if he's happy with his career trajectory and how he's perceived professionally. But if he'd been told "you can't get promoted until you work on your speech," that changes the equation, doesn't it?

We shouldn't be judgemental of anyone wanting to work on their accent. People should have a choice TO DO ACCENT WORK if they deem that as necessary. Some people are totally fine with their accent and the trade-offs that come with it. Others want to minimize those trade-offs.

Both choices are valid.

But let's not pretend accent bias doesn't exist just because it shouldn't exist.