What's the general best-practices word for "cultural inclusion"?

June 22, 2016 9:59 AM

What's the general best-practices word for "cultural inclusion"? This would be for a mental-health center consisting of both professional providers and peer support, and we want to get across the idea that we are respectful of cultural diversity and also aware that we may have blind spots. (I realize I may be trying to be overly ambitious in capturing all that in a single phrase.)

"Cultural inclusion," I/we worry, doesn't acknowledge that we have blind spots (in that it might make it sound like we somehow think we're automatically including everyone without having to do the work to know how to do that). The original phrase was "Culturally inclusive as we are able," which I think doesn't hold us accountable enough, but does at least show that we may have blind spots or lack of specific resources (but I worry it implies we won't work to get them). "Cultural sensitivity" sounds weird to me, somehow. "Cultural awareness" seems to lack the idea that we do anything with the awareness, and "cultural competency" is too provider-jargony. "Cultural diversity," to me, feels like it promises that all our providers and peers will be ethnically/racially diverse, rather than that we're actively working to include clients' cultures into our work with those clients.

"Culture" in this case is not just race/ethnicity but also (especially) mental health/disability status. Thoughts? This is going in a list of nouns and noun phrases under our "values" section in brochures/websites/who knows.

posted by lazuli to Society & Culture (17 answers total)

I like just "Sensitivity", with an explanation to the effect of "we are respectful of the diversity of our clientele (race, ethnicity, mental health, disability) and also aware that we may have blind spots."
posted by Etrigan at 10:05 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Plurality and Intersectional are two words I see a lot.

It sounds like what you're striving for is an intersectional approach, if "inclusive" doesn't go far enough. That said, it's a term that can rile people up, either because it sounds like post-modernist academic mumbo-jumbo, or exactly because it's a term that literally means "our previous attempts at inclusivity don't hold us accountable enough."

Pluralism or Plurality could work, but they tend to have the more passive meaning that you say you're not looking for here. (It's often used as a more up to date synonym for "multicultural".) I see pluralism used a lot to mean "wow there are a lot of diverse experiences out in this big world of ours, and isn't that neat!" It doesn't imply the commitment to action that Intersectional does.
posted by Sara C. at 10:05 AM on June 22, 2016

I agree with your reservations about the phrase "Culturally inclusive as we are able"-- to me, it sounds really hesitant (and ass-covering) rather than welcoming.

How about "respectful and inclusive"? I don't think it implies perfection, just awareness and effort. Inclusivity is something your organization should always be reflecting on and working on; it's not possible to reach the perfect point of inclusivity. You'll always be a work in progress, and that's okay.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:10 AM on June 22, 2016 [6 favorites]

Maybe something like "We strive for inclusivity and respect and honor the many ways in which our populations are diverse" or something. I agree that "best we can" sounds not as great as "we're trying and would like feedback" and then make that actually a real thing that you do.
posted by jessamyn at 10:31 AM on June 22, 2016 [15 favorites]

Some of these words (i.e. "intersectionality") are jargon and not widely understood or even well-received. "Respectful and inclusive" is better, but still esoteric. My org keeps it very, very simple and basic: "We welcome everyone."
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:42 AM on June 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

I often see the phrase "culturally appropriate" in similar formulations (e.g., "we offer culturally appropriate services whenever possible"). May or may not work in this specific instance.

Also: I recommend taking a look at A Progressive's Style Guide (which I learned about on the blue recently, here). I've been thinking about it a lot recently. It has some good suggestions not just for word choice but for mindset.
posted by miles per flower at 12:16 PM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

The issue with "inclusive" (IMO) is that it implies an original group including other groups. "Oh yeah, let's include them as well." Who is the Us and who is the Them? And the issue with "culturally" is that it doesn't communicate that you are also referring to ability / mental health status.

What about something along the lines of "we strive to reflect the diversity of [the Bay Area] and to respect and serve a diverse set of communities."
posted by salvia at 12:25 PM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: For some reason "inclusivity," even if it's sort of neologistic, feels more active and forward to me than "inclusion." Inclusion sounds like anyone is permitted; inclusivity sounds like people from different backgrounds are valued, welcomed, maybe even pursued.
posted by threeants at 12:25 PM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

My problem with "culturally appropriate" is not that it isn't a great thing, because it is, but that's it's a pretty big claim. Doing something in a way that's culturally appropriate is a skill, not a value. So, if your organization has, say, particular expertise serving Muslim women, then yeah, definitely say you can offer them culturally appropriate care; if it's just that your staff is sensitive to difference and values diversity, that's awesome but you should use a different phrase.
posted by threeants at 12:31 PM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: (I'm appreciating all these answers! Just wanted to point out that I'm looking for a phrase, not a sentence. I've got several long sentences under our mission; this is for a "values" section that's a list of things we incorporate in our work, like: Respect, Encouragement, Hope, Trust in Recovery, Focus on Strengths, Creativity. So I need a noun or noun phrase to match the others.)
posted by lazuli at 1:16 PM on June 22, 2016

To get at the limitations, maybe:

Humility? Commitment to learning [from our patients]?
posted by salvia at 1:29 PM on June 22, 2016

I think"inclusion" works for a list like that. It describes a set of general values, rather than specific criteria to meet.

It might be worth addressing the mechanisms that are in place for fulfilling those values (feedback etc) more thoroughly elsewhere.

I like the idea of "welcoming everyone", for client-facing stuff.
posted by cotton dress sock at 1:50 PM on June 22, 2016

I think "cultural inclusion" is the best phrase, and the people of your organization will show by their actions that they are willing to learn further from clients.
posted by epj at 3:06 PM on June 22, 2016

The ALA phrase I use is "Open to All". I speak cultural studies but work with a broad spectrum of members - language like intersectionality can be another barrier to open service.
posted by saucysault at 3:08 PM on June 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I went with "inclusivity" rather than "inclusion," because it does (for whatever reason) sound more like an active thing rather than a settled thing to my ear.

Some of the wording gets tricky because we're including clients as part of the peer community, so we're trying to establish values for not only how providers treat clients but also how clients treat each other (and how families and allies and other support networks treat clients, and each other).

I absolutely hear everyone talking about making sure we're open to addressing barriers and making changes where necessary and not just patting ourselves on the back and calling it a day. We're pretty good, I think, at doing so, but we certainly do have blind spots and we often run up against the constraints of a large bureaucracy, so it's definitely a work in progress. We do actively talk about it regularly, though, and I think it's a core part of our values, not just a buzzword, which is one of the reasons I like working here.

Thanks again!
posted by lazuli at 3:18 PM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

The term that jumps to mind for me is "safer space."

It's used where I volunteer to indicate that (1) we know we're never going to be entirely "safe" for everyone and (2) we're trying to improve relative to our organization's past and to the world at large.
posted by sibilatorix at 6:09 PM on June 22, 2016

What if you consider the whole list as a piece of content, since most people will encounter it that way? This may help by letting the phrases build from and reinforce one another.

In that vein, can you have two phrases to show the two ideas (current responsive practices including humility and constant learning)?

Could you consider describing the end goal instead of the tactic of cultural sensitivity?

Here are some ideas to play with.

Radical welcome
Safe space
Open and affirming
Cultural relevance
Honoring of diversity
Always learning
Open to change
Cultural humility
Better together
Courageous
Courageous cultural engagement
Strength in difference
Strength in diversity
One tree, many branches
Celebrating many ways of knowing

I can do more if you can share the full list for context.
posted by ramenopres at 8:44 PM on June 22, 2016