ABSTRACT
Given the pluralist societies in which we now live, the issue of diversity is addressed in each chapter, whilst this chapter focuses primarily on how diversity intersects with the practice of supervision at an individual level. The structural impacts of colonisation and oppression of minorities which underlies what transpires in the helping professions is acknowledged. Whilst cultural competence, cultural sensitivity, transcultural healthcare, cultural responsiveness or cultural capability are addressed to some degree in most training courses, the supervisor has a pivotal role in helping supervisees to learn about equitable treatment in practice. Following from the Francis Report in the UK, equality analysis provides evidence of continuing discrimination against and underrepresentation of staff and patients with identified minority characteristics, particularly at senior levels of the organisation. Contemporary conceptions of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and disability are a particular focus of this chapter. Suggestions are made for how supervisors might ensure that cultural issues remain central in the supervision task with difference being conceived as between me and you rather than ‘out there.’
