Why Cultural Competence?

The research is clear. Companies that successfully implement sustainable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices will have happier, higher-performing employees. They will be more successful, more profitable, and more innovative. Strategically cultivating workforce and community outreach plans that reflect the demographic shifts of the 21st century will create the organizational context for cultural competence education.

Notable Diversity In the Workplace Statistics

  • By 2044, groups formerly seen as "minorities" will reach majority status
  • By 2025 Millennials are predicted to make up 75% of the workforce
  • Diverse companies enjoy 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee
  • 43% of companies with diverse boards noticed higher profits
  • Racially & ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to perform better

Data cited from 2021 Report on the State of DEI

The Benefits of Being Culturally Competent:

  • A diverse workforce drives economic growth.
  • A diverse workforce can capture a greater share of the consumer market.
  • Recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates means a more qualified workforce.
  • Diversity fosters a more creative and innovative workforce.
  • Organizations need to understand and embrace the changing demographics in order to become and remain competitive in a global economy.
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what

What is Cultural Competence?

Cultural Competence is an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competence comprises four components: (a) awareness of one's own cultural worldview, (b) understanding one’s own ideas about cultural differences, (c) knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (d) cross-cultural skills.

The Characteristics of Being Culturally Competent:

  • Gender and diversity equity in the organization
  • Civil communication across the organization
  • Teamwork and employee participation throughout the organization
  • Representation of all groups and employee perspectives at all levels of the organization.
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methodology

Our Methodology

We apply an experiential and ethnographic approach to DEI consulting.


Ethnographers report what they understand (about a culture): sounds are transcribed into texts; utterances are presented as stories or conversations; events and processes are interpreted or explained.”

From Johannes Fabian. “Ethnographic Misunderstanding and the Perils of Context.” American Anthropologist, 97(1) p41, 1995.


Ethnographic research entails a complete immersion in the community or organization under study. The complexity of DEI and Cultural Competence subject matter requires a deep dive into your organizational culture. This assessment-oriented research acknowledges the composition of your business or organization, including the varying ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds of your workforce. Inclusivity has develops rubrics from a series of questionnaires/interviews/focus groups that aid in providing recommendations and actionable strategies to develop cultural competence within the organization. For the assessment to generate authentic data, our ethnographic immersion must be subtle, and we must be allowed the time and “space” to effectively understand your organizational culture.