A multicultural perspective of stuttering in the workplace

PURPOSE: It is well-documented that people who stutter face inequities and discrimination in the workplace; however, there exists a gap in the literature regarding what the workplace is like for people who stutter with intersecting, marginalized identities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the workplace experiences of culturally diverse people who stutter (CDPWS) through the lens of the intersectional ecological framework. METHODS: Qualitative methods were adopted for the collection and analysis of data. The seven participants in this study completed an online questionnaire and participated in a semi-structured focus group. Transcripts generated from the focus group were investigated using thematic analysis procedures. RESULTS: The data gave rise to five major themes as well as multiple subthemes: (1) Disclosure at work, (2) Career-specific challenges, (3) Motivations for choosing career, (4) Intersectionality, and (5) Roles of others in the workplace. CONCLUSION: This study offers a novel view of the workplace experiences of CDPWS by adopting qualitative methods and using the intersectional ecological framework to enhance thematic analysis findings. While the workplace-based concerns revealed in this study are similar to those described in previous literature, a major difference was the sentiment that CDPWS bring two types of "baggage" to their jobs, their stuttering and their race/ethnicity. The findings of this study have clinical implications for the imperativeness of having open conversations with clients about the identities that intersect with their stuttering and how this impacts them in different aspects of their lives, including the workplace.