Code Words: Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Tolerance

Communication is challenging, especially when words have many meanings. Seth Godin, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker, says this in his essay on code words: “Code words … that’s all language is. ‘Banana’ is not a fruit. It’s a word that we use in English to identify a fruit. And code words work beautifully as long as the person you’re seeking to communicate with understands the word the way you think they do. Often, when people end up disagreeing, it’s because they didn’t understand the code words that were being used.”