Common Myths about Diversity, Cultural and Linguistic Competency
Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee March 2007

Myth # 1: There are too many cultures in the US and world. I cannot possibly learn what I need to know about all of them.

Cultural and linguistic competence does not mean learning as many "characteristics" as possible about every culture. Among other behaviors, the developmental¹ process of gaining cultural and linguistic competence means that a person learns to: (1) recognize and reject his or her preexisting beliefs about a group of people, (2) recognize the influence of his/her own culture on creating those beliefs about others, (3) focus on understanding new information, and (4) forgo the temptation to classify or label individuals. This process makes manageable the task of gaining progress toward achieving cultural and linguistic competence and avoids spreading or perpetuating fixed, generalized cultural misinformation.
 
Myth # 2: I have examined my preconceptions about the various cultures in my community, organization, or service area, changed some of my thoughts; thus, I now feel culturally and linguistically competent to deal with people who might appear in my life, including work settings.

Cultural or linguistic competence is not a one-time, finite achievement. This is a life long process reapplied in every interaction--practiced throughout one's career and re-examined periodically by organizations and workplaces. It would be dangerous for a person or organization to conclude that all existing information or that one can learn about diversity and culture has been mastered. Regardless of the amount of information learned about a given culture, the individual experience is unique.²

Myth # 3: My own diversity, be it my ethnicity, my gender or my disability has taught me what it means to be culturally sensitive. I do not need any special training on how to become culturally or linguistically competent.

Each person has different levels of awareness and sensitivity about his or her own diversity, first language, or culture. Every human being, however, holds preconceptions about "different" cultures or dimensions of diversity. Therefore, everyone, including a person outside the dominant culture, must use a deliberate, analytical process to examine cultural misinformation and strive for cultural and linguistic competence in each individual case. As the federal government has begun to include cultural and linguistic competence in an expanding number of important program rules and regulations, this uniformity of expectations sets federal models.

Myth #4: We are already a diverse workplace, organization, and so forth, so there is nothing left to do because of the diversity among our staff/members.

The workplace or an organization can be a microcosm of society, and if that statement about having a diverse staff/membership is the case, it is misleading to assume that the shared and unique cultural and personal differences among people (e.g., employees in any particular government, corporate or non-profit organization) are somehow universally accepted. As workplaces and other forms of organizations have become more diverse, the number of conflicts based on differences may very well increased. At least in part, one might attribute this to a lack of understanding and awareness about the vast dimensions of diversity people bring to work and their interplay in the workplace.  Being a diverse workplace or organization with regard to hiring or selection practice is an important first step, but just as important is learning how to include and leverage that diversity across philosophy, policy, and operations to the benefit of all.

Myth # 5: The process of achieving cultural and/or linguistic competency is too "touchy feely" and asking me to become more “aware” will not make a difference in my gaining competence.
 
The movement toward cultural/linguistic competence is a journey. With greater awareness of facts and broadened experiences, a person can reject or avoid acting on preconceived thoughts, obtain new individualized information and resolve the case with cultural and linguistic competence. As a complex concept, awareness means knowledge of the existence of a thing, place, idea, and so forth. Mastering awareness involves skills gained over time and begins with the willingness to learn.  For example, a step toward cultural and linguistic competence in advancing a situation or meaningful communication with people from a different background and tradition is willingness of a party to acknowledge that he or she might have stereotypes or preconceptions about other people. Another step is to begin replacing the patchwork of different definitions, suggestions and requirements with a broadly understood set of expectations. Such was the foundation, principles, and elements of the national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health care.³

Myth # 6:  Diversity is not a concern in my community, organization or workplace, since there are only a couple of people whose backgrounds are different from the dominant American culture.

Regardless of the perceived diversity or lack of diversity in one's environment, every person encounters people on a daily basis with cultural experiences that differ from his/her own diversity.  The relevance of diversity in cultural and linguistic awareness should not be defined exclusively by race and ethnicity. It includes a broad spectrum of additional primary and secondary identities such as age, gender, mental and physical abilities, and location.⁴ Using an effective process to practice cultural and linguistic competence in every case can ensure fair and equal interaction with and/or treatment of every person.

Myth #7: Diversity equals preferential treatment for others, and does not do anything to benefit me or other people in the majority population.       

Diversity is the collective mixture of differences and similarities among all individuals in an organization, workplace, program, or body. Diversity pertains to each one of us, and therefore, an effective workplace or organization policy and/or program should be inclusive—enabling everyone to have an equal voice and an equal opportunity to utilize skills and talents. Organizations that are making great strides in creating work environments that support diversity, and are implementing innovative people practices that provide opportunities for everyone are often the same organizations that are winning praise and recognition for innovative, employee-focused policies, programs, and results that are highly valued and beneficial to all.

Myth # 8: I already attended all those legal “don’t do” trainings such as discrimination training, sexual harassment training, and disability rights training. Therefore, I know what the law says you can and cannot do.

Cultural competency and linguistic competency are not about behaviors governed by law. These concepts are about behaviors and actions that improve a person’s ability to effectively and authentically communicate and interact with people perceived to be different. Cultural competency and linguistic competency are about what you “can do” to improve the policies, services and outcomes for people within the workplace or organization and/or who contact you for assistance. A way to learn about the needs, desires, concerns of people from diverse cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds is to become aware, to ask questions, to seek out information in an authentic and respectful way. A recommended rule pertaining to cultural and linguistic competency that one should strive to follow is the “Platinum Rule” which states, “do unto to others as they would want to be done unto.”⁵

¹Cross, T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K. & Isaacs, M.  (1989).Towards a culturally competent system of care