As a general phrase, "cultural competence" can often conjure for the unfamiliar reader a vision of a person who is fair, just, and open, a person who is nice, someone who is a good person at heart. Cultural competence, however, goes far beyond the everyday meanings that its component words invoke, and it is an active area of scholarship and professional development, especially in the training of K-12 education and health care professionals. Yet, the term cultural competence is rarely found within the vocabulary of most practicing biologists and university-level biology teachers, and its relevance to biology may seem questionable. Given the limited progress that has been made in diversifying the sciences as a discipline, the time has come for teachers to consider the implications and importance of cultural competence within the biological sciences, especially in the context of teaching in classrooms and laboratories. So, what is cultural competence? Why should biologists care about it? What are common pitfalls that reveal the lack of cultural competence? And what are some teaching strategies that teachers can all use to continue to increase cultural competence? Here, the authors attempt to address these questions and to connect readers in the biological sciences with insights from other disciplines that may aid them in striving for cultural competence in their own college or university classrooms and laboratories. (Contains 2 tables.)