CODED LANGUAGE IN SOURCING

About this talk

Coded Language refers to words/phrases that are not explicitly or overtly offensive, but frequently mask more subtle and nuanced expressions of prejudice and racism. Mariko through learning common examples of Coded Language, discovered that interview feedback both from recruiters and hiring managers are filled with them.

She is proposing a strategy that targets the eradication of Coded Language. A combination of training on what Coded Language is and how to identify it, plus developing a program that can detect and flag Coded Language in interview feedback text, can help avoid the use of harmful language and perpetuate prejudice in the workplace. The goal is to look for an inverse correlation between the use of coded language in interview feedback and the number of diverse employees in the company’s population.