Cultural Competency as a Journey of Justice and Integrity

Cultural competency, at its heart, is an evolving commitment to justice and equity rooted in the hard-won lessons of history. It’s easy to see it as just another checkbox—something to “have” or “master.” But what we often overlook is that true cultural competency is not a finite skill. It’s a continuous, sometimes uncomfortable journey that asks us to look inward, challenge our biases, and acknowledge how we are bound up in a system that doesn’t always serve everyone equitably. If we fail to recognise this, we fail to grasp what cultural competency demands of us.

The History We Can’t Ignore

The roots of cultural competency trace back to the civil rights movement, a time when racial and social inequities were laid bare, demanding a response. As a society, we were asked to confront our ingrained biases, especially in critical areas like healthcare and education. But if we’re honest, those foundations are often forgotten in today's practice, glossed over by those who see cultural competency as a set of policies or training instead of an ethical imperative. Cultural competency grew out of activism and the relentless drive for equality. To forget that is to strip it of its very purpose.

Cultural Competency: More Than Technical Skills

In our work, we sometimes reduce cultural competency to skills—cross-cultural communication techniques, knowledge of cultural customs, and perhaps even a linguistic adjustment. While those skills are important, they’re not enough. Cultural competency is about moral consistency. If our cultural competency approach feels uncomfortable talking about systemic injustice—whether it’s the murder of Hind al Rajjab in Palestine or the ongoing displacement of Indigenous communities worldwide—then what we have isn’t cultural competency. It’s a hollow framework that avoids the hard questions, preferring safety over integrity.

A genuine commitment to cultural competency must address these injustices head-on. It means looking at our institutions—many of which promote “decolonising” initiatives while profiting from colonial practices. We can’t ignore that disconnect if we’re serious about justice and equity. Cultural competency asks for more than professional polish; it asks for a moral stance.

Beyond Healthcare: The Universal Demand for Cultural Competency

Though cultural competency may have begun in healthcare, its applications have now spread across sectors. In education, cultural competency is about rethinking how we teach, ensuring that diverse voices aren’t just included as an afterthought. In business, it means building culturally intelligent workplaces that value, rather than merely tolerate, diversity. And in criminal justice, it’s about confronting biases that can mean life or death for some communities.

But in all these fields, cultural competency requires the same thing: a commitment to recognise and address the inequities built into the system. Frameworks like Cultural Intelligence (CQ), the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), and the Cultural Competence Continuum all try to capture the steps we can take toward this end. Yet no model alone can substitute for what’s needed—a shift in mindset that values justice over convenience, consistency over selective engagement.

Cultural Competency is an Ongoing Responsibility

In this light, cultural competency isn’t something we arrive at; it’s a responsibility we assume. It’s easy to think we’re done once we’ve passed through training or ticked off a box on a form. But true cultural competency is never finished. It demands that we remain open, curious, and willing to engage with the uncomfortable. It challenges us to listen, to be uncomfortable, and to change—not once but constantly, as new layers of bias, inequity, and privilege come into view.

And here’s the hardest part: cultural competency demands that we acknowledge our role in perpetuating the very systems we aim to change. It’s not enough to champion diversity on paper while ignoring the ways we benefit from existing hierarchies. It’s about being willing to advocate, consistently, for all communities with the same fervour, whether or not their struggle is one we identify with.

Embracing Moral Consistency

The work of cultural competency is far from easy, and it is often uncomfortable. But this discomfort is essential. It’s a reminder that cultural competency is not just about learning to respect others but about transforming ourselves and our institutions. It’s about building a framework that doesn’t shy away from hard truths, one that upholds human dignity, equity, and justice across all struggles.

If we are to embrace cultural competency fully, it must be with the knowledge that we will never finish the work—that it’s an ongoing journey requiring humility, empathy, and courage. Let us remember that cultural competency, born from a commitment to justice, is a call to moral consistency, a call to stand up for human dignity with unwavering integrity. Only then can we claim to be truly culturally competent.