Women Social Workers

Abstract

Research continues to demonstrate that female social workers earn less than their male counterparts and experience significant barriers to professional advancement. Yet, little has been written about factors promoting women's progress within the structural barriers that disadvantage women social workers. The combination of ethic of care, risk and resilience, and ecological theories informs the conceptual model outlined in this article. This model provides a roadmap for understanding national and organizational impediments to the success of women social workers and offers strategies for empowering women in the profession in the United States. Social work practitioners and administrators must engage in frank discussions about sexism, nurture leadership skills, and advocate for the elimination of gender discrimination and for the promotion of equal opportunity in social service organizations.

‘I Had to Take a Casual Contract and Work One Day a Week’: Students’ Experiences of Lengthy University Placements as Drivers of Precarity

“…Constructions of gender and class are integral to the social work profession. Social workers are predominantly women, but tend to be paid less and have more restricted opportunities than men (Koeske and Krowinski, 2004; Mallinger et al, 2017). Historically the profession has been associated with a particular social construction of femininity (Orme, 2002; Walkowitz, 1999).…”

Diálogos entre el ser personal y profesional desde una perspectiva de género: ¿un dilema silente en el Trabajo Social con mujeres inmigrantes?

“…The gender perspective was integrated into the analysis through the use of meanings and links based on relations with the people they work with (Benhabid, 2006), the identity and practice of Social Work (Mallinger, Starks and Tarter, 2017;Morales, 2010;Dominelli and Campling, 2002), as well as the practice's ethical dimension (Gilligan, 1993;Held, 2006;Agrela, Guitérrez and Fernández, 2017).…”

“…Para responder a nuestras preguntas y refutar nuestra hipótesis definimos un enfoque cualitativo para favorecer, desde un posicionamiento más situacional y contextual, la identificación y profundización de factores de género en la aparición y expresión de dilemas éticos, también desde un punto de vista interseccional (Yuval-Davis, 2006) en la labor con personas migrantes. En todo ello, la perspectiva de género se integra en el análisis aportando significados y vínculos desde el ámbito relacional con sus acompañantes (Benhabid, 2006), en la identidad y quehacer del Trabajo Social (Mallinger, Starks y Tarter, 2017;Morales, 2010;Dominelli y Campling, 2002) también desde la dimensión ética de la práctica (Gilligan, 1993;Held, 2006;Agrela, Guitérrez y Fernández, 2017).…”

“…En él se reúne valores y principios que aguardan la "ética personal" y que están condicionados también por identidades de género. Desde el punto de vista de las/os trabajadoras/es sociales y teniendo en cuenta la "feminización" de la profesión, una sobrerepresentación que también se alinea con el perfil mayoritario de nuestras/os entrevistadas/os, este factor tiene su repercusión e impacto en las formas de formular, sentir y resolver las intervenciones (Mallinger, Starks y Tarter, 2017).…”

Social workers’ constructions of child risk and protection in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community

“…First, as in many qualitative studies, the sample may be influenced by a sample bias stemming from the snowball and convenience sampling method used. Second, the interviewees consisted solely of male social workers, thus providing a limited perspective of what social workers in the field perceive, especially due to the fact that social workers in Israel and around the world are mostly women (Mallinger et al, 2017). We assumed that differences between male and female social workers may arise due to major differences in terms of their socialization path, and discrepancies between social expectations between men and women in the Ultra-Orthodox community.…”