The Sneaky Language Hiding in Plain Site

Coded Language in Our Workplaces

In a society that has told people to be color blind and speak in a “politically correct” manner, it’s no wonder that people—especially white people—have a fear of speaking about things like race, politics, and even money. With all these subjects, that need to be talked about, but we’ve been told we shouldn’t, it’s also no wonder that we’ve developed coded language to describe them in a nuanced way.

What is coded language? 

The National Education Association describes coded language as “Substituting terms describing racial identity with seemingly race-neutral terms that disguise explicit and/or implicit racial animus (hostility).” 

A white identifying friend who works in public education described this example:

“We were all in a giant principal meeting with principals from all over the county. A white presenting principal spoke up around the Capitol attacks and mentioned how she felt like politicians got a taste of what it had been like for her to work in an "urban" school herself for years. There was general agreement and head nods. The following week in another group, two of my black identified coworkers shared in a meeting that the principal’s comment around "urban" had been frustrating to hear. They met after the meeting to commiserate around that word being used in that context. I acknowledged that I had totally missed that moment at the time and said how much I appreciated them bringing it up in a group setting and would continue to work on catching those moments.”

In my friend’s example, the word urban is used to describe a predominantly Black school where the coworker compared how she felt (safety-wise) to how politicians may have felt as the capitol building was attacked. The word urban is often used to describe areas that are considered unsafe. This is coded language and a way to veil a racist comment as seemingly innocent.

Coded language also shows up when we discuss “diversity hiring.” I often hear people describe an individual as a “diverse candidate” or make statements like, we can’t find any diverse candidates. Here’s the thing, individual people aren’t diverse; someone being in an underrepresented group in your organization doesn’t make them a diverse person. Groups are diverse. That person may increase the diversity of the team they will be joining, but being a person outside of the majority monoculture, does not make someone diverse.  

Instead we should say things like:

We are looking to diversify representation of Black and Hispanic applicants for this job. We haven’t interviewed anyone in this demographic, let’s expand our recruiting efforts.

In her book, Dare to Lead, Brene Brown says, “Clear is Kind.” This couldn’t be more true when speaking about difficult topics. It’s important to say what you mean. Will you sometimes get it wrong? Absolutely! What do you do? Apologize and move on, don’t make it about you, and don’t center the work on your struggle. 

How to address coded language:

1. Ask questions

When someone uses coded language, address the occurrence by asking questions. “What do you mean when you say ‘diverse candidate’?” 

2. Use specific language (clear is kind)

Reword their statement with more specific language. “I hear you saying ‘diverse candidate’ but I think you are referring to the Black candidate for this role.”

3. Call people in

“You used the word diverse to describe a particular candidate, but individual’s aren’t diverse, groups are. Instead we can use specific language when talking about candidate demographics, for example you can describe her as the Black female candidate.”

Coded language sneaks into our daily lives in ways we may not even recognize. The more we become aware of it, the more we can be clear, intentional, and antiracist about the way we speak. This creates a more inclusive environment and eliminates workplace microaggressions.