From cultural competency to cultural humility

The late 1990s marked the beginning of a movement within the human services professions that stressed the importance of cultural competency. Psychology and social work were the pioneers; these fields emphasized cultural competency as a critical part of forming professionals for the changing realities of a new century. Derald Wing Sue defined it as “the process by which individuals and systems respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each.”

As the term gained traction it also evolved. In 2008 the “Cultural Competence and Social Diversity” section of the National Association of Social Workers’ code of ethics demonstrated this evolution: “Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, and mental or physical disability.”

The idea of cultural competency reflects noble intentions: an effort to provide effective care to people from other cultures, and especially from minoritized and marginalized groups. The term itself came out of efforts to find alternative language to another term that was circulating: cultural sensitivity. Miguel Gallardo notes that the main critique of sensitivity language was that it was more abstract and did not provide “a skill component.” This emphasis on a set of concrete skills led to the creation of several cultural competency tools that are still used today. (In my work with church leaders and seminarians, I have used both the Intercultural Development Inventory and the Cultural Intelligence Assessment.)