Building Organizational Capacity to Advance

Cultural Competence and Address Privilege

Professor Salome Raheim, PhD Former Dean

School of Social Work University of Connecticut (U.S.A.)

Examine elements of organizational cultural competence and privilege

Explore a case study of building organizational cultural competence and addressing privilege

Look at steps that might be taken in this organization to create a sustainable effort to advance cultural competence and address the operations of privilege

Hopes and Intentions

2

Creating a safe space. . .

Be present

Be honest

Be respectful

Be open

Be patient with yourself and others

Suspend judgment

Keep confidentiality

It’s OK to disagree

Be concise

The Fable of the Monkey and the Fish

Once upon a time a monkey and a fish

were caught up in a great flood. The

monkey, agile and experienced, had

the good fortune to scramble up a

tree to safety.

The Fable of the Monkey and the Fish

As he looked down into the raging waters, he saw a fish struggling against the swift current.

Filled with a humanitarian desire to help his less fortunate fellow, he reached down and

scooped the fish from the water.

To the monkey’s surprise, the fish was not very grateful for this aid.

(Adapted from a Traditional Tanzanian Folktale: www.afriprov.org)

When I use the term ‘cultural competence,’ I mean the ability to interact with and work effectively in the context of a wide range of human differences, including: • Race

• Ethnicity

• Religion

• National origin

• Language

• Sexual orientation

• Age

• Family size

• Family type

• Marital status

• Disability status

• Health status

• Income

• Education

(Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Issacs,1989)

Material

Culture

(Objective)

Deep

Culture

(Subjective)

Iceberg Metaphor

Material culture

Deep culture

Cosmology

Relationship to nature

View of people good/bad

Dominant way of relating:

vertical/horizontal

Time orientation

Approaches to problem

solving

Definition of Family

Family member roles

How one seeks care

Death and dying

Concept of health, illness

Who agrees to be a

patient

How one behaves as a

patient

Who makes decisions

about a patient’s

treatment Rules of decency

Showing & handling

emotions and pain (AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc., 1984)

Social Privilege

A system of unearned advantages afforded a social group and its members because of skin color, social class, religion, ethnic group membership, gender, sexual orientation or other social characteristics.

(McIntosh, Peggy. 1988; See also Raheim et al., 2004)

Power & Privilege: U.S. Context

Men White Heterosexuals Wealthy English 1st language Christians U.S. citizens Temporarily Able Bodied “Mid” age Two parent families Others????

Women People of color Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Persons with low incomes Limited English Proficient Non-Christians Immigrants Persons with disabilities Very young; Very old Single parent families Others????

Groups with Privileged Groups Lacking Privilege

Ways Privilege is Often Expressed: Microaggressions

Everyday exchanges that send

denigrating messages to certain

individuals because of their group

membership.

Generally happen below the level of

awareness of well-intentioned members

of the dominant culture.

(See Sue, 2007.

See also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJL2P0JsAS4

Reflection & Discussion

• How can we notice the ways in which we

inadvertently enact privilege in our

work?

• How can we check out the effects of this?

(Raheim et al., An Invitation to Address Privilege and Dominance,

Dulwich Centre)

What is the link between cultural competence and privilege?

The operations of social privilege and their

effects on our lives frequently go unnoticed

and must be made visible to work in

culturally competent, that is, effective ways.

(Raheim et al., 2004)

Culture—shared meanings and behaviors—is

subject to continuous change and modification

in response to changing internal and external

circumstances (Lum, 2010, p. 18).

The Need for Cultural Humility

14

Incorporate and understand multicultural and

Intersectional analysis, integrating diversity and power

differential in relationships, past and present

experiences including micro aggressions and personal

and system (micro, meso, macro ) resources.

Honor client’s expertise on their culture.

(Ortega & Faller, 2011)

Cultural Humility

15

The Cultural Competency Journey. . .

• Becoming aware of one’s own cultural values, beliefs, behaviors, social locations, and positionality

• Becoming aware of other’s values, beliefs, behaviors, social locations, and positionality

• Becoming knowledgeable about the operations of privilege and its consequences

• Developing competencies to address issues of privilege and dominance

(Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Issacs,1989)

Why organizational cultural

competence?

Set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and

policies that come together in a system or

agency or among professionals that

support addressing privilege and working

effectively in cross cultural situations. (Cross, Bazron, Dennis & Isaacs, 1989)

Organizational Cultural Competence

18

Components of Organizational Cultural Competence

(Queensland Government, Queensland

Health, Multicultural Health, 2014)

Privilege and Culture

The dominant majority group in an organization or society determines what customs, laws, language usage, and norms will be observed, saluted, and maintained. With its superior power and prestige, the dominant group can enforce these parameters and advance its particular interests and needs.

(Moody, 2004, p. 8)

How privilege operates in organizations

Who is viewed as most knowledgeable

Whose decisions carry the most weight

Whose opinions are sought in decision-making

Impose cultural meanings

Privilege operates to . . .

Normalize some cultural practices and

marginalize others

Judge differences as deficits

Ignore history and context

Devalue, demean and trivialize non-

dominant cultural practices and groups

Effective application of cultural

competence requires addressing the

operations of privilege in practice and

in our organizations.

Organizational Cultural Competence— Taking the Journey

Elements of Organizational Cultural Competence

Commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity

Manage the dynamics of power, privilege, and difference

Conduct cultural self-assessment

Acquire & institutionalize cultural knowledge

Organizational transformation:

Structures Services/Practices

Policies Individual Competencies

(Adapted from Mason, Benjamin & Lewis, 1996)

Case Study

History

UConn SSW Academic Plan ‘09 – ’14 Goal:

Ensure a more diverse, inclusive and just community that fosters cultural competence in teaching, scholarship and service.

Dean Raheim established the Cultural Competence Action Committee (CCAC): Coordinate implementation of strategies and action steps of diversity goal.

Discussion

Do your organization’s stated

values and philosophy support

cultural competence and addressing

privilege?

The Process

Clarify values and philosophy

Create a structure

Cultivate leadership

(National Center for Cultural Competence)

On

-goin

g

Co

mm

un

icatio

n

Ongoing Communication

Announcement of Committee

Formation

Newsletters

Reports in Faculty Meeting

“Committed to Diversity” webpage http://ssw.uconn.edu/our-community/committed-to-diversity

Organizational Cultural Competence Self-Assessment

Provides a baseline measure

Tool measures perceptions of practice, attitudes and functioning

Not a measure of individual performance

Findings assist in identifying:

Professional development needs

Resources within the organization

Organizational strengths

(National Center for Cultural Competence)

Self-Assessment: The Process

Develop a structure

Allocate resources

Secure training and consultation

Develop a timeline for the process

(Mason, 1994)

On

-go

ing

Co

mm

un

ication

Self-Assessment: The Process

Review previous efforts

Gather existing data

Identify an instrument, method of

distribution, collection and analysis

Analyze data and interpret data

Create an org development plan

(National Center for Cultural Competence)

On

-go

ing

Co

mm

un

ication

Examples of Existing Data

Demographics—service area; clients, service providers and other staff; supervisory and management v. direct service employees

Service reports to determine patterns (e.g., waiting times, outcomes by population)

Agency reports (e.g., EEO)

Reports to grantors, licensure and accreditation agencies

(Adapted from Mason, Benjamin & Lewis, 1996)

Potential Constituents to Survey

Agency employees

Current and former clients

Board of Directors and Advisory Boards

Partner organization staff

Community organization staff

Funders (Adapted from Mason, Benjamin & Lewis, 1996)

Action Plan & Implementation

Increasing commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity

Managing the dynamics of power, privilege, and difference

Acquiring and institutionalizing cultural knowledge

(Mason, 1994; Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Issacs,1989)

On

-go

ing

Co

mm

un

ication

Action Plan and Implementation

Organizational transformation:

Structures

Policies

Services/Practices

Individual Competencies

(Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Issacs,1989)

On

-go

ing

Co

mm

un

ication

Implementation and Ongoing Communication

Convocation on Cultural Competence

Terry Cross, Monica McGoldrick, Karina Walters

Diversity Field Seminar

Everyday Democracy

Relationship building activities for

faculty and staff

Implementation and Ongoing Communication

Professional development for faculty, staff, and

field advisors

Focused group for students of color and LBTQI

students

Dialogues on Race

Curriculum revision to LGBT elective course

Student Subcommittee

Reflection & Discussion

• How can we respond when this occurs?

• How can we create processes of

accountability to take care in relation to

these issues?

(Raheim et al., An Invitation to Address Privilege and Dominance, Dulwich Centre)

In this organizational context,

what steps might be taken to

create a sustainable effort to

advance cultural competence

and address privilege and

dominance?

Please continue these conversations with

your colleagues, in your workplace, and at

An Invitation to Address Privilege and

Dominance:

http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au

Next steps. . .

For additional details on this effort to advance cultural competence and address privilege, see www.ssw.uconn.edu--> Community-->Committed to Diversity

Cultural Competence Web Resources

National Center for Cultural Competence http://nccc.georgetown.edu/

National Association of Social Workers (USA) Cultural Competence Indicators https://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWCulturalStandardsIndicators2006.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Health Resources and Services Administration http://www.hrsa.gov/culturalcompetence/index.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Minority Health: National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care: http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/ and https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/

References

AFS Internatial Programs, Inc. (1984). Orientation handbook, Vol. 4. New York: (Author). (See also: Fowler, S.M., & Mumford, M.G. (Eds.) (1995). Intercultural sourcebook: Cross-cultural training methods, Vol. I. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.)

Bronheim, S. (2004). Cultural competence: It all starts at the front desk. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development.

Cross, T. L., Bazron, F., Dennis, K., & Issacs, M. (1989). Towards a culturally competent system of care. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Child Development Center.

Lum, D. (2010). Culturally competent practice: A framework for understanding diverse groups and justice issues. Cengage Learning.

References

Mason, J.L. (1994). Developing culturally competent organizations. Focal Point, 8(2), 1-7.

Mason, J. A., Benjamin, M. P., & Lewis, S. (1996). The cultural competence model. Families in the mental health system for children and adolescents. Policy, service, and research, 165-190.

McIntosh, Peggy. (1988) White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies. Working Paper Series, No. 189. Wellesley, MA: Center for Research on Women. Excerpted: http://www.utoronto.ca/acc/events/peggy1.htm.

Moody, J. (2004). Faculty diversity: Problems and solutions. Routledge.

National Center for Cultural Competence. (2005a). Conceptual frameworks/models, guiding values and principles. Retrieved June 1, 2015, from http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/nccc/framework.html.

References

Ortega, R. M. & Faller, K.C. (2011). Training child welfare workers from an intersectional cultural humility prerspective: A paradigm shift. Child Welfare, 90(5), 27.

Queensland Government, Queensland Health, Multicultural Health (2014). Organisational cultural competency framework. Retrieved July 1, 2015 from http://www.health.qld.gov.au.

Raheim, S. (2004/2005). Building organizational capacity for cultural competence. International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations: Proceedings of the Managing Diversity Conference 2003, 3B, 137-151.

Raheim, S., White, C., Denborough, D., Waldegrave, C., Tamasese, K., Tuhaka, F., Franklin, A., Fox, H., & Carey, M. (2004) An invitation to address privilege and dominance. Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, Australia. Retrieved July 1, 2015 from http://www.dulwichcetre.com.au.

References

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M. Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A., Nadal, K.L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. AmericanPsychologist, 62(4), 271.

Traditional Tanzanian Folktale: How the Monkeys Saved the Fish. African Proverbs, Sayings and Stories. Retrieved from http:// www.afriprov.org.