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here's the bit from yesterday's #DowningStreetBriefing where deputy CMO Jenny Harries fields a question about how people would know that a call from the Track & Trace service was legitimate and not a scammer
her answer essentially boils down to "they'll sound professional"
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her answer essentially boils down to "they'll sound professional"
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i want to stress here that i have a lot of sympathy for Harries - she's a *medical* professional
she's not infosec, or a criminologist, or a barrister, but her answer reveals serious underlying issues in the ways we are taught to think about scams, credibility, and honesty
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she's not infosec, or a criminologist, or a barrister, but her answer reveals serious underlying issues in the ways we are taught to think about scams, credibility, and honesty
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i am willing to bet money that given an hour's prep, i could pass myself off as a legitimate Track & Trace official on the phone
(if you want to know what my voice sounds like, listen to my podcast - yeah that's right i plugged it)
why is that?
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(if you want to know what my voice sounds like, listen to my podcast - yeah that's right i plugged it)
why is that?
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that's because credibility, professionalism, and trustworthiness are tied up in all kinds of nasty stereotypes - racism, ableism, classism, misogyny, you name it
and those stereotypes are then coded into palatable words like "professional"
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and those stereotypes are then coded into palatable words like "professional"
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so what does "sound professional" *really* mean?
it tends to be very slippery code for
• white
• fluent speaker of English
• no strong regional accent
• middle-class linguistic mannerisms (formality, vocabulary, etc.)
• no speech impediments
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it tends to be very slippery code for
• white
• fluent speaker of English
• no strong regional accent
• middle-class linguistic mannerisms (formality, vocabulary, etc.)
• no speech impediments
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by contrast, what does "sound unprofessional" mean?
well, just change any variable on that list
white fluent English speaker with a strong cockney accent? people will probably describe that as not "professional", even if that same person is a renowned brain surgeon
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well, just change any variable on that list
white fluent English speaker with a strong cockney accent? people will probably describe that as not "professional", even if that same person is a renowned brain surgeon
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why? because cockney is widely considered a working class accent, and there's a (ridiculous) presumption that working class ≠ professional
but there's more
this *also* builds on the presumption that the white, fluent, middle-class voice-owner is inherently more honest
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but there's more
this *also* builds on the presumption that the white, fluent, middle-class voice-owner is inherently more honest
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in short, the advice that callers will "sound professional" is useless because white collar criminals abound, as major corporate bankruptcies from Enron to the Lehman Brothers illustrate in a heartbeat
in professional people have *all kinds of voices*
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in professional people have *all kinds of voices*
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