What is this thing we call cultural competency? Who has it? Who needs it?

1. Cultural Competency

2. What is This Thing We Call Cultural
Competency?

3. Cultural competency is a process not a
product.

4. You will never be 100% culturally
competent. It is impossible.

5. There are just to many variations on
humanness in the world!
So relax.

6. Cultural competency is the level of
ability an individual has cultivated to
support them in interacting effectively
with people who have different
cultural influences.

7. Cultural influences are all the things
that you come in contact with in your
human life that have an impact on the
way you experience the world.

8. Things that can influence the way you
experience the world include:
• gender
•age
•physical ability
•sexuality
• race
•ethnicity
•religion
• nationality
• first language
• learning styles
• personality types
• travel
• professional orientation
• education

9. Life gives different people more
practice interacting with certain types
of ‘different than me’ than it gives to
others.
So some people are more likely to
naturally develop cultural competence
than others.

10. Also, our own cultural orientations
send us explicit and implicit message
that tell us some types of difference
are better, more tolerable, or more
acceptable than others.
So some people are more likely to
develop limiting world views.

11. Either way…
Since we learned our culture and how
to interact with some of the humans
around us effectively, we have already
started the process of cultivating
cultural competency.

12. If you are interested in consciously
cultivating your cultural competency,
stay tuned!
This is only part 1 of a 5 part slide
series.

13. By: Charlie Birch, CDP
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
CULTURAL COMPETENCY
CONTACT:
KGBirch@gmail.com
@BeingHumanAlly
www.CharlieBirchProjects.com/BHA-consulting
Copyright 2013