Cultural Load – Is It Time To Evaluate The Load And Who Is Bearing It?

The term ‘Cultural Load’ was brought to my attention by an article in HRM (July 2021) in reference to the “extra pressure” employers are (often unknowingly) placing “on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees by asking them to educate their colleagues”.
Associate Professor Richard Frankland, Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne, defines ‘Cultural Load’ as “the invisible loads that people of other cultures or other social demographics carry…. and – following on from this – ‘cultural safety’ means being able to practise your culture free of ridicule or condemnation”.
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