Why is cultural diversity important

Learn more about online programs at Purdue Global and download our program guide. To receive the Purdue Global Program Guide, including associated career paths, please select an area of study. Caleb Rosado, who specializes in diversity and multiculturalism, described seven important actions involved in the definition of multiculturalism: 5 recognition of the abundant diversity of cultures; respect for the differences; acknowledging the validity of different cultural expressions and contributions; valuing what other cultures offer; encouraging the contribution of diverse groups; empowering people to strengthen themselves and others to achieve their maximum potential by being critical of their own biases; and celebrating rather than just tolerating the differences in order to bring about unity through diversity.

How can you support cultural diversity? Increase your level of understanding about other cultures by interacting with people outside of your own culture—meaningful relationships may never develop simply due to a lack of understanding. Avoid imposing values on others that may conflict or be inconsistent with cultures other than your own.

When interacting with others who may not be proficient in English, recognize that their limitations in English proficiency in no way reflects their level of intellectual functioning. Recognize and understand that concepts within the helping profession, such as family, gender roles, spirituality, and emotional well-being, vary significantly among cultures and influence behavior.

Intervene in an appropriate manner when you observe others engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice. Be proactive in listening, accepting, and welcoming people and ideas that are different from your own. Filed in: Human Services. About the Author Dr. Belfield Dr. Faculty Spotlight: Karen Watson. Quotes on Nonviolence by Dr. Before knowing what cultural competence really is all about, it is best if you fully know and grasp the concept of culture.

To briefly describe the word culture , it is the distinct set of values, principles, norms, beliefs, and traditions that influence how individuals from a specific region or place think, perceive, behave, interpret, and decide on their judgments regarding their world. Cultural competence is more than just being respectful of other cultures, nor does it mean that a person is just aware of the customs and traditions of specific cultures. Being culturally competent requires not only becoming culturally aware and knowledged.

The cultural competence continuum is composed of 6 stages that an individual undergoes to reach cultural proficiency. This model helps an individual to understand further the phases that are normally milestones for someone to be culturally competent.

This phase defined by the policies, attitudes, practices, and structures that are parts of a system, an organization, or an indigenous group of people, otherwise known as tribe or community, that are particularly destructive and harmful to a certain cultural group. This is actually the most negative portion of the cultural competence continuum. For example, forced assimilation is a type of involuntary procedure of cultural assimilation of ethnic or religious minority groups.

During this process, the people are forced to learn, understand, and adopt specific languages, norms, beliefs, values, traditions, identity, customs, perceptions, and most of the time, religion and ideology of an already existing community. Forced assimilation takes place whenever a state places extreme measures for the emphasis of a homogenous identity as a whole nation. This will result in the harsh measures of exterminating an already existing minority group with their own set of values, norms, practices.

Basically, they have a different culture from the whole nation. But because of the strict implementation of the government, they are forced to abandon their beliefs, customs, values, principles, practices, way of thinking, and norms.

The worst ending for these minority groups is physical elimination — they are expelled, and sometimes genocide takes place to get rid of the whole minority. This phase is where the system or the people in a regional culture are very biased. They do not have the capacity to effectively respond to the needs, preferences, interests, and traditions of a large group with different cultural beliefs.

In this category, there is a stereotype — they believe in the superiority of a culture with a larger scope, which leads to the disempowerment of other smaller ethnic groups with their very own set of cultural attributes. For example, racism is still rampant in the 21 st Century. It is a particular belief or ideology that instils the thought of a specific racial group being superior to another race. Racism is when a specific group of people with similar race are marginalized and oppressed based on their racial culture.

Cultural blindness is the phase where the system, the organization, or the government treats all cultures as if they are one. They start treating and viewing people equally, when, in fact, these people have different sets of beliefs and traditions that might contradict each other. Usually, the dominant culture has an advantage because their culture is considered as the basis for how all cultures will be treated.

Cultural blindness is a system that is often classified by the ignorance as well as the unrealistic fear and worry of people who do not belong to the dominant group. This is because the only needs that are met by the system are the needs of the dominant culture. For example, when it comes to religion, if you serve different people from different religions with pork, a lot would not be able to eat it.

But because Christianity is used as the basis by the system, the needs of people from other religions such as Islam and Judaism are not met. This phase is where the system, the organization, or the government starts to realize what their strengths are. This phase also allows them to see the areas where they need to improve on so that they can effectively respond and accommodate the needs of a diverse group of people coming from different cultural backgrounds.

During this, the government becomes more committed to providing the needs and support that all minority groups ought to seek. However, there is still a lack of information about maximizing the capacities that the government has to provide the best experience for all cultures within the nation. The downside of this stage is that it has the capacity to lead to tokenism. Tokenism is when a group only makes a symbolic or perfunctory effort to say that they have already done their part.

For example, tokenism is when a company only hires some people of color to look as if they are diverse in their hiring process. During this phase is where the whole system accepts and respects the different cultures within their group. With this, they continue to assess themselves and further improve their services for all the people within their sector who are from various cultural ethnicities.

They start to provide a more satisfactory programs and events that can cater to different cultures, and this is because they finally understand these groups on a deeper and more effective level. Finally, cultural proficiency has been reached. During this phase, the different cultures within a group or a nation are held with high esteem, and they are effectively taken good care of by the system, the organization, or the government.

There are a lot of places where cultural competence takes place. Here are some examples where this is practised. For example, the workplace is an environment filled with people from different cultural backgrounds. Like when a particular workmate is very punctual, the people within the workplace will provide them with a nice attendance during meetings.

In school, there are a lot of kids who have different upbringing. Because of their different cultures, the school cafeteria often provides more than just one type of meat or fish for their lunch. The Purnell Model assumes that different individuals from various families are part of several cultural tribes or groups, commonly referred to as subcultures.

It states that every single individual has their own right to be understood and respected for his or her distinct and unique difference and cultural heritage. Usually, caregivers such as nurses and doctors can assess, curate a plan, and intervene using a culturally competent way of technique can improve and enhance the care given to clients and patients within their scope of care.

In this model, people are more inclined to understand any culture — study and examine it using a conceptual framework that will aid in a better understanding of these cultures. Purnell Model contains 12 aspects, otherwise known as domains of all cultures that most health care providers must take into consideration.

These are the cultural traits that are passed down from one generation to another. These are inherited beliefs, customs, norms, principles, traditions, and attributes that encompass a specific group. These help a group become more understanding of each other. For example, Filipinos often use their mouth when they point to something.

Culture has its own family dynamic with the appropriate distribution of power. Most cultures consider men to be the head of the household while women are considered to be the ones who are responsible for maintaining a lovely and livable home. This domain is related to the assimilation, acculturation, autonomy, gender roles, way of communication, ethnic style of communication, as well as health care practices from where the group originates from.

For example, you can conduct research or ask your peers on different social sites about their cultural norms. Remember, to understand other cultures well, you can opt for practical methods like traveling and camping. By doing so, you get cultural awareness and a real-time experience of what it feels like to belong to another culture. Here are some of the most effective strategies you can use to learn about other cultures. Being conversant with a native dialect enables you to interact and engage with people from diverse cultures effectively.

This ability is also known as cultural competence. The simple act of learning new words and phrases helps you connect with others deeply. By learning a new language, you acquire robust cross-cultural communication expertise when speaking your native language with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Rather than reading books written by people you identify with, adopt a practice of reading books written by different people from different cultures.

This helps you learn numerous facts about the culture. The economics and geography of any country are critical and closely associated. You can begin by establishing the following. One way of achieving this is going for international camps.

The advantage of attending these camps is that you meet people from different countries and races. Not only do you learn about their culture, but you also teach them your culture. Having a one on one interaction with people helps you hear their stories first hand. Leverage this opportunity to ask questions about the culture and teach them everything they want to know. This way, you learn from each other. Food plays a critical function in human existence.

Further, the food we all consume is connected to our culture. You can learn and understand a specific culture by sampling their food. There would be no way of comprehensively defining culture without evaluating its cuisine. Food is an extensive need, and regardless of where you are or where you come from, you need food.

The chances are that many of our social cultures emanated from food. In the past, for instance, people would wander through the land to hunt and gather food. While food practices have changed in the modern-day, it remains one of the uniting factors for people worldwide.

Why is this necessary? It plays a significant role in developing communities that excel in problem-solving and enhancing varying conditions. The world comprises people with diverse cultures. Where possible, being exposed to different cultures helps you embrace and appreciate people that are different from you. Further, the more your children interact with other children from different cultures , the more they respect and value them. Going for summer camps is an excellent way of exposing your children to diverse cultures and practices.

Whether they interact with other children from different countries or regions, they will learn something new during camp. Ethnic and racial divisions can hurt society. For instance, it could lead to a lack of opportunities, misunderstandings, and in the worst cases, violence.

Communities marred by ethnic and racial rivalry often suffer from both financial and human resources. These vices distract communities from finding concrete solutions to their budding issues. Language is a critical part of human communication. Understanding different cultures enhance communication in varying ways. For instance, culture can influence speaking tendencies such as; figurative language, speed, and presentation.

Culture also contributes to the way people depict their gestures and body language. Meeting and interacting with people allows you to diversify your communication and look at the world from a different perspective.

Communication boosts your credibility and trust and makes you vocal about your culture and beliefs. There are numerous benefits of communicating with people from different cultures. Connecting with people from other countries helps you build an appropriate personal life. Mastering the art of effective communication makes you more productive while allowing you to maintain healthy relationships with your friends and peers.

Again, understanding other cultures promote your intelligence, verbal fluency, and awareness. Communicating with people from different cultures exposes you to various essential skills like problem-solving and stress management skills.

You may want to meet people from other cultures to connect with the fast-evolving world, learn their practices, acquire new methods of executing tasks, and understand them from a personal point of view. There are different ways of meeting new people. For instance, participate in various celebrations, attend camp, visit people from diverse cultures , and celebrate special days. This enables students, especially, to meet, interact with, and make new friends.

Engaging in multicultural experiences allows you to participate in new activities, taste new food , and experience a vast range of things away from your comfort zone. Children can get exposed through; sampling new cuisine, participating in different cultural celebrations and listening to stories from their peers from other countries.

Further, engaging in various activities such as art or learning how to play a new musical instrument. Exposure to new things helps children to explore the world better. Learning and understanding different cultures are critical in day-to-day life.

Here are the reasons why you should be conversant with diverse cultures.