This article is based on a study of men’s relationship to the social work profession in the North-West of England. It argues that men’s presence in the social work profession is accounted for in discourses of career motivation, of career choice, and of men social workers as heroes and/or ‘gentle-men’. The article considers how these negotiations between gender and professional identities might contribute to debates about the detraditionalization of gender and work identities in late modernity.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Within Northern Europe, gendered roles and responsibilities within the family have been challenged through an emergence of different family forms, increasing cultural diversity, and progressive developments in welfare policies. To varying degrees, welfare policies in different countries support a dual-earner model and encourage men to be more active as fathers by reinforcing statutory rights and responsibilities. In child welfare practice, there has traditionally been a strong emphasis on the mother as primary carer for the child; the father has been less visible. This paper explores, in four national welfare contexts, how child welfare social workers include fathers in practice decisions. Data were collected using focus group interviews with social workers from England, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. Similarities and differences emerge in relation to services and the focus of social work assessments. However, overall, the research suggests that despite gains in policy and legislation that promote gender equality, fathers remain largely absent in child welfare practice decisions about the parenting of their children. From the research, we raise questions for social work practice and the development of welfare policies.