Research finds having a ‘gay voice’ could stop you getting a top job
New research suggests that having a “gay voice” could cost you a promotion into higher jobs.
Gay men with more “feminine” voices and lesbians with “huskier” voices are likely to be put on the back bench when it comes to climbing within a company.
The study, carried out at the University of Surrey, asked participants to listen to different voices and form an impression on the person based purely on the sound of the voice.
They were then shown image of the people attached to the voices and given theoretical situations about hiring the people.
The study found that heterosexual men are more likely to thing a “straight sounding” person should get a higher up job than a “gay sounding” person.
Dr Fabio Fasoli who led the research said to Broadly that the results were an indication that “unacceptable levels of discrimination” were still prevalent in everyday life.
Dr Fasoli said: “This study highlights that it can be a real problem in the workplace and for people’s career prospects.
“It is revealing, that despite all the work to lessen discrimination against the LGBT community, people subconsciously typecast an individual before getting to know them
“This study demonstrates that unacceptable levels of discrimination, be they subconscious or conscious, still exists in our society.
“We need to do more to tackle the discrimination faced by the LGBT community,” they added.
The study comes after research at the University of Sussex which found female business executives are much more likely to hire LGB employees than their male counterparts.
They found that male bosses were more likely to pick the straight job applicants over equally-qualified gay and lesbian counterparts.
The opposite was true for female executives, who have an apparent unconscious bias in favour of LGB candidates.
