Decode Your Words.
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
A few weeks back, as summer was winding down and we were preparing for the start of a new school year, I invited you in this column to lose the jargon in your communications. I challenged you to say goodbye to words and phrases such as deep dive, pipeline, picking your brain, and moving the needle and instead to practice saying what you mean.
Simple concept—not always simple to do.
However, your response was overwhelmingly positive. So many of you reached out to share how you are putting the lessons of that essay into practice. And because of your great response to that column, I've got part two of that list for you today—this time with a fresh challenge: to remove coded language from your vocabulary.
Coded language is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a word or phrase chosen in place of another word or phrase to communicate an attitude or meaning without stating it explicitly."
More explicitly, coded language is defined by Language, Please as "seemingly neutral terms that individuals use to negatively describe identity in a way that maintains oppressive power structures. These terms are ambiguous and so embedded in the general public's vocabulary that they are often considered normal and harmless."
(Quick PSA: if you don’t already know Language, Please, you should make a point to check it out. The site is a terrific resource for inclusive communicators.)
Coded language is nuanced and subtle, but its effect is far more pronounced. Coded language is targeted. It portrays groups of people negatively and perpetuates systemic oppression.
So, let's start decoding. Here are a few coded phrases I hear often and that you might be using without even realizing it:
Culture fit. If you have ever used this phrase in hiring or HR conversations, then it's time to stop! This phrase places an unnecessary focus on whether a candidate will be able to assimilate into an existing culture (often the dominant culture) vs. acknowledging and celebrating the strengths and attributes that this person would bring and add to your workplace. Jonathan Howard, Associate Partner and recruiter at Edgility Consulting, says that “focusing on culture fit can cause employers to overlook what candidates can bring to an organization and it excludes candidates who may be well qualified.” He suggests that you start by ensuring that your culture is clearly defined. If you want to build a diverse team, then focus on culture adds vs. culture fits.
Competitive. Similarly, if you've ever described your workplace as "a competitive, fast-paced environment", you've also used coded language. According to Inhersight, "Competitive has traditionally been regarded as a male-coded word, and job descriptions in male-dominated industries still tend to overuse masculine-coded words." Jonathan Howards adds that "whether it's intentional or not, using coded words like competitive unconsciously deter individuals from applying.” So, lose competitive in your next job posting and consider a word like hardworking, instead.
Urban communities. On the surface, an urban community might be considered an area with a high-density of population, the availability of basic requirements, and with good resources. A city, right? But there's a deeper, coded meaning in this phrase that dates to the Federal Housing Act's urban renewal program, established in 1949, which directly targeted areas where poor people and people of color were concentrated. As German Lopez expands on in this Vox article, "after White flight out of cities and into suburbs in the 1950s and '60s, the American public and politicians began to associate inner-city life with race. As a result, terms like inner city and urban have been widely adopted to refer to where Black people live."
Disadvantaged neighborhood. I've written before about the challenges of deficit-based language, and this is another example of just that: A deficit-based term such as “disadvantaged” connected to a place such as “neighborhood” will often be used to describe communities impacted by racism and economic exclusion, without explicitly stating as much. There is always harm done when we reduce a community to only its challenges without raising the systemic forces that caused the challenges in the first place. What you're saying, without saying it, is that some communities are less than and need to be fixed by people outside of the community. These terms disregard a community's strengths and assets and the natural power, talent, and initiative within a given community. So, move away from that deficit-based coded language and try instead saying what you mean.
Alex Kapitan, founder of Radical Copyeditor (another great resource), says that the way we think about people dictates the way we treat people. "When we use particular language for a particular group of people, and that language is different than the way that we talk about other groups of people, that reinforces the sorts of biases that are baked into that language."
Bottom line: Eliminating coded language from your vocabulary takes a willingness to learn and a dedication to making intentional change. Use this week to assess the words and phrases you use and notice if you're actively (and perhaps unintentionally) using any coded phrases. Practice speaking up when you hear others using these phrases, too, and use this blog as a guided resource to practice replacing those words with more inclusive phrases. Words matter, and with each intentional swap, we can show how much people matter, too.
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
