Globally 50 million people of employable age stutter. This is a huge pool of under-utilised talent.

What’s holding this talent back?

For far too long, people who stutter at work have been wrongly labelled as poor communicators, lacking in confidence and making a limited contribution compared to their peers.

Fuelled by societal bias, these ill-informed labels act as high barriers in the workplace. They make it harder for people who stutter to get a job, let alone to thrive and fulfil their potential.

For millions who stutter, even passing an interview feels like a hurdle which can never be cleared. The harsh reality is that, in cultures which continue to view stuttering as a weakness, they may well be proved right.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

What’s the reality?

Good communication is so much more than speaking fluently. It is about the quality of the connection between the speaker and the listener and how attentive they both are to the dialogue between them. It has little, if anything, to do with speed and fluency of speech.

Experience shows that many people who stutter develop into excellent communicators such as Sir Winston Churchill, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah and Sameera Reddy (see below).

Research shows that people who stutter often develop valuable strengths in creativity, empathy, resilience and listening.

Yet employers continue to miss out on the talents of people who stutter, while millions of people who stutter miss out on a fulfilling working life.

This is where 50 Million Voices comes in.

Our proposition is simple and achievable.

By bringing together people who stutter and employers and allies, we can challenge the ill-informed labels, bring down the barriers and help everyone gain greater understanding and acceptance of stuttering in the workplace.

These changes can benefit everyone: the 50 million adults who stutter, their employers and society at large.