Write a paper on the importance of why human service professionals need to be culturally competent.
Assignment Requirements:
2-3 pages.
The paper does not need to be in APA format; however, all information gathered from sources must be cited in APA format.
The United States has always had an ethnically diverse population, including African Americans, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans, to name a few. In recent years, our country has undergone dramatic shifts in its population, particularly as rapid migration has changed its landscape. For example, the Hispanic population in the U.S. rose from approximately 12.5 percent in 1990 to over 16 percent by 2009, and is anticipated to comprise 25 percent of the population by 2050.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2043, the U.S. will become a “majority minority” country. This means that although the non-Hispanic white population will still be the biggest group, a single group will no longer make up the majority. More than 50 percent of the population will identify as belonging to an ethnic minority group or any group other than non-Hispanic white.
In other words, although we have always lived in an ethnically diverse society, we are all operating in an increasingly culturally diverse environment where we need to be able to interact, communicate, build relationships, and work effectively with people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Moreover, those of us working with youth need to prepare them to operate in a society that will be even more diverse in terms of religion, ethnic background, and sexual orientation.
Today’s world is diverse and global. Technology has made interactions across cultures around the world a very common experience. Social networking sites, blogs, and chat rooms are letting people regularly interact across national borders. Many industries currently have a significant amount of international collaboration, and careers in many fields increasingly entail working with people from different countries, both directly and indirectly. Children and youth today need to be prepared to enter a workforce and adult society that spans across borders and involves interacting with people of diverse backgrounds in myriad settings.
Recognizing our increasingly globalized society, many industries and professional organizations (e.g., National Education Association, RAND Corporation) are emphasizing the importance of cultural competence and related skills (e.g., global awareness) as essential in today’s workplace. Numerous universities are also incorporating cultural awareness and development as part of the higher education experience and career preparation by creating opportunities for students to participate in international experiences. Successfully navigating our globalized society entails being able to understand and appreciate diversity in its many forms, and to effectively engage and communicate with people from different cultures.
Despite the fact that societies are becoming more culturally diverse and globalized, issues surrounding inequality, bias, and breakdowns in intercultural communications persist. The FBI reports that in 2013, there were almost 6,000 reported incidences of hate crimes in the United States. Of these, almost 60 percent had racial or ethnic motivations; 20 percent were around sexual orientation; and 17 percent involved religion. There are also numerous bias incidents, persistent inequalities around racial and ethnic lines, and institutional policies that perpetuate inequalities at both the individual and institutional levels. One need not look beyond recent news reports to find that ethnic tensions persist.
Discrimination and bias have serious consequences. For example, stereotypes and bias have been claimed as the foundation for the surge in reported incidences of police brutality and the deaths of African Americans. A substantial body of work has also shown that victims of bias suffer in ways that may be less visible—in their academics, work performance, and other domains of life—even when those biases are subtle. Research on “microaggressions” (i.e., regular or daily subtle and minor acts of bias that may be consciously or unconsciously expressed) illustrate this point and show that even subtle incidences can have cumulative and serious consequences for socio-emotional well-being.
Negative effects are evident not just for the victims of biases. Recent research suggests that stereotyping, bias, and incidences of microaggressions not only affect the victim but also contribute to a hostile environment for everyone so that people in the broader setting (e.g., workplace) might feel invalidated or even intimidated and abused.
In addition, holding biases and prejudice also negatively affects the very persons holding those stereotyped beliefs. Experimental research shows that individuals with racial biases who interact with people of color show increased levels of cortisol and other stress hormones. Thus, biases and stereotypes have negative effects all around—for individuals and institutions, as well as for the targets of bias and for those holding such biases.