An Anthropological Approach to Multicultural Diversity Training

Abstract

This article describes an anthropological training process for fostering multicultural diversity competence. Multicultural diversity competence refers to the ability to demonstrate respect and understanding, to communicate effectively, and to work collaboratively with people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Based on principles of anthropological fieldwork, the training process is multilevel. It is designed to address personal and interpersonal knowledge and skills, and organization-wide policies and procedures. Participants become aware of the multidimensions of current diversity problems and of the need for interpersonal and organizational intervention strategies.