Project 57 Week 23: Cultural humility

In an analysis of the concept cultural humility, Cynthia Foronda proposes the following definition of cultural humility: “In a multicultural world where power imbalances exist, cultural humility is a process of openness, self-awareness, being egoless, and incorporating self-reflection and critique after willingly interacting with diverse individuals” (2016). In this way, Foronda elucidates, “the results of achieving cultural humility are mutual empowerment, respect, partnerships, optimal care, and lifelong learning” (2016). Cultural humility is a means by which to recognize that each of us are different, come from different cultures, possess unique perspectives and opinions and that we all have equal place in this world, and to approach one another with openness, respect, and understanding.  

This is a way to flatten harmful hierarchies like racism, sexism, and homophobia and commit to mutually empowering one another to be themselves. Through openness and welcoming “diverse individuals” perhaps very unlike oneself, the learning process begins, “self-reflection and critique” become part of the process of learning and understanding the world and the diverse people in it. It is through continual learning through connection that hierarchical power imbalances can be flattened leading to “mutual empowerment”. Every interaction we have with one another presents a unique challenge to “harmful hierarchies” in that supporting racist, sexist, ageist, ableist, or homophobic practices maintains the hierarchy of harm, whereas personally acknowledging difference, recognizing privilege, welcoming diversity, self-reflecting on personal discomfort and growth, and working to mutually empower one another is the process of cultural humility and dismantling harmful power imbalances.  

For more information, please consider the following resources

• Cultural Safety and Humility Standard, First Nations Health Authority
• Diversity, cultural humility, and the helping professions: Building bridges across difference, Sana Loue, Brandy L Johnson, Kathryn LeMoine
• Developing cultural humility : embracing race, privilege and power, Miguel E. Gallardo (Ed).
• Anti-racism, cultural safety & humility framework, First Nations Health Authority, First Nations Health Council, and the First Nations Health Director's Association
• On critical humility, Warren Cariou.