'My co-worker told me to stop speaking in meetings due to my accent': Indian employee in US

A 32-year-old Indian employee working with a US-based client team, in a recent post on Reddit, said that he was told by a senior colleague to stop speaking in meetings because his accent was difficult to understand.

The employee said that the incident occurred during a routine project update, part of his regular responsibilities.

"...during a meeting, I asked a team member (about 55 years old) for a project update just part of my regular responsibilities. He told me to stop speaking in meetings because he couldn't understand my accent," the post read.

"I felt dismissed and insulted. I've always made an effort to communicate clearly and professionally. No one else has said anything like this before I have being with the same client for over a year now," the employee added.

Stakeholder told me to stop talking in meetings because of my accent-is this normal?
byu/OkSpecial9640 inIndianWorkplace

The post quickly gained traction, drawing reactions from others who have faced workplace bias or discrimination based on communication style.

The incident has reignited discussions about accent discrimination and inclusion in multicultural workplaces. Many users advised the employee to document the incident and report it through formal channels, while others shared similar experiences, highlighting the need for cultural sensitivity training in global teams.

"Get a feedback from another Non-Indian," a user wrote. 

"That's really rude, usually if they cannot understand you they might ask you to speak slowly, but telling you to just stop speaking is very rude and not normal behaviour," another said.

"Setup a meeting, and record yourself speaking. Then play it back and listen to yourself. This can be a good litmus test of how others "hear" you. If you know any other non-Indian with whom you feel comfortable, you can include them in that call - so that you can hear their conversation as well in the same medium. Once you get this done, and if you feel you don't have a communication problem on your side, setup a 1x1 call with that other person who called you out, and record that as well. (The 2nd recording is more for HR if you decide to escalate/report the abusiveness)," a third advised.