Diversity & Cultural Competency
Diversity & Cultural Competency
Becoming Culturally Informed
Race. Class. Gender. Sexual orientation. Sexual identity. Culture. Age. Weight. Oppression. Discrimination. White privilege. These are not terms that most of us want to discuss. For they are scary, emotion-provoking, and can cause a great deal of discomfort. Yet, they are some of the most important topics in the world. For they describe the lived experiences of humans in a cultural context. They describe all of us. And they affect all of us.
I can teach you:
What the core multicultural factors are (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender)
How culture influences our personal development and lived experiences
Why understanding diversity can help in both your work and personal relationships
How to manage differences in cultural values
How to become more culturally competent
Why Understanding Diversity is Critical
It’s impossible to understand a person without understanding the cultural and historical environment they live in. For we are all products of our cultural, social, political, and familial environments—whether we like it or not. We were raised in them. We learned from them. We reacted to them. And we are affected by them.
Understanding diversity and culture is essential to understanding the nuances of human development and identity. Not only do we learn more about ourselves and how we developed, but we become better friends, family members, team members, coworkers, and global citizens by appreciating similarities and differences in others.