Cultural Competency In Practice
By Yezenia Sandoval, CJC Training and Development Program Manager
In March 2026, we hosted a virtual public training onIntroduction to Cultural Competency & Humility.We offer this training yearly as we recognize the importance of having a shared understanding of cultural competency. At Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), we are committed to creating an anti-racist workforce development system and promoting employment equity. This can only occur by working across organizations and systems to cultivate an inclusive environment that values, respects, and celebrates diversity in all its forms.
Under our current administration, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been seen as threatening and decisive. However, CJC has not wavered from keeping our anti-racist language to call attention to inequitable systems and policies. Although every organization cannot operate in this same vein, we encourage you to take an audit of your internal policies and work culture to ensure cultural competency is at the forefront in pushing forth your organizational mission.
Cultural competency should not merely be a buzzword but a critical framework for examining our identities, assumptions, and the perspectives we carry into spaces on an individual and organizational level.
As discussed in our cultural competency training session, there are three key factors to developing cultural competency:
Awareness: Recognition of one’s own biases as well as awareness of the sociopolitical issues that affect others.
Knowledge: Being open-minded in learning about different cultural groups without imposing judgement.
Behavior/Skills: Integrating awareness and knowledge to change our behavior and positively impact others.
What does cultural competency look like in practice?
Examining the implicit biases we hold based on our conditioning from childhood experiences and mainstream media.
Valuing the unique perspectives and identities of others by engaging in open conversations through a lens of curiosity.
Challenging assumptions, expectations, and pre-conceived notions about certain identities in our daily interactions.
Practicing self-control of emotions and demonstrating empathy.
What is a good starting point for improving our mastery of cultural competency?
Challenge your assumptions during situations by using the ‘ladder of inference’. The Ladder of Inference describes the thinking process that we go through, usually subconsciously, to make an assumption. We can run through this whole ladder within a matter of seconds. It takes practice to unlearn this often deeply ingrained habit and critically analyze our assumptions.
What is the impact of effectively demonstrating cultural competency?
Improved interpersonal communication and collaboration among your team.
Increased retention and performance among employees at your organization.
Effective service/program delivery to the communities you seek to serve.
Demonstrating mastery of cultural competency requires engaging in a continual process of unlearning biases, being honest about cultural differences that may need to be bridged through respectful dialogue, and a long-term commitment to elevating diverse perspectives.
Interested in attending an interactive training session on cultural competency? Be on the lookout for our next cultural competency training!
Looking for a specific training that is currently not reflected in our CJC offerings? Reach out to our Training and Development Program Manager, Yezenia Sandoval, at yezenia@cjc.net.
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