Gender: An Analysis Of The Social Work Profession

When working in a field of expertise the experts in that area need to know what defines that field. Social work, with its roots over a hundred years old, started out simply offering assistance to others, has grown and changed, and is currently reconnecting with its roots (Bisman, 2004). Bisman (2004) emphasizes the importance of being an advocate of justice and keeping the field focused on the “social” part of social work. This push to keep social work focused on the needs of others defines social work today. Social work focuses on providing aide to the needy and increasing awareness of those that are oppressed.

On September 21, 2015, I met with Ms. Katie, a student in the MSW program at NCSU, to conduct an interview. We met at Starbucks in Cary, in the crossroads shopping center. Ms. Katie’s responses helped me learn and think about social workers in the child welfare social field. As a prospective social worker, my questions were formed based thoughts that I was concerned about my responsibilities in the social work field..

I have yet to encounter a social worker who entered the profession for acclaim or prestige. It is a demanding career with long hours and ceaseless paperwork. Social workers are frequently overburdened in addition to being underpaid. Occasionally, they witness agonizing tragedy, fundamentally changing them. Having worked in social services for a number of years, I have had these experiences.

Rationale The public image of social work has always been important in the field, strengthened continuously today by the National Association of Social Workers with its efforts to encourage a positive image of professionals and with the strong emphasis of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. The field continuously strives to preserve the history of social work through educating students to understand the current state of the field and the many strides taken by social work pioneers such as Mary Richmond. Mary Richmond, “constantly sought to improve the public’s understanding of and appreciation for the profession” (Murdach, 2011). Developing a understanding of the impact

The rise of the service economy has increased tendency for service workers to engage in emotional labour meanwhile increase the employment opportunities for women (Nixon, 2009). However, women remains concentrated in low paid and low status occupations in the contemporary economy as opposed to men. The workplace culture is gendered due to the social expectation towards the occupations that reinforce existing stereotypes and cultural expectation about the gender in the workplace (Nixon, 2009; Kerfoot and Marek Korczynski, 2015; Hanser, 2012). Hochschild (1983) suggested that a job requires emotional labour when its performance involves direct interaction with customers or colleagues (Nixon, 2009). For instance, service workers are required to

I recently stopped working at Swiss Chalet located at the Boardwalk for a little under a year now. Most of my co-workers were females, (including head manager, assistant manager, and a large majority of the serves who worked with me) with the exception of the cooks, and two other servers. Out of the 9 female servers, 7 of them had kids, and they all varied in relationship status (married and divorced). From my time working there, and being able to reflect on what I’ve learned in this course, I have come to the conclusion that my female coworkers have much more at stake than an eighteen-year-old guy who was working for a part time position. These women not only have to work a low paying job to maintain and provide for their family, they also have to take on their role as a mother and wife/ex-wife when they return to their homes.

In the society we live in today, there are many problems people face whether it has to do with family, friends, jobs, stress, money, children, abuse or, etc. Although many people face issues in their daily lives sometimes these issues can be overwhelming and in these cases it is important to realize that there is help from people. Social workers are put in place by the government to provide help and assistance to those who need it and even those who may not accept it but are in need of it. There are many times a social worker will be seen as the bad guy but its hard to forget that they are just doing their job and actually are doing more good than bad. Social workers provide the help and services that most families and communities need but may not be able to access or may have other conflicts which prevent them from receiving help. Whether it be help by necessary force or by willfulness of the person or family that needs help, it can be assured that a social worker will be there to provide just that.

Social work is a gendered profession because it is a woman dominated profession. In theory, when compared to men, women’s willingness to help others is greater because than that of a man’s. Women are often associated and, in some cases, expected to express a caring personality towards others because of the idea that “women are sensitive and are more willing to show sympathy towards others.” In other words, women have kinder hearts. This idea often results in women to become underpaid in their professions

If one were to ask me six years ago what I would like to pursue as a career, I do not believe that I would have ever been able to answer them ‘a social worker’. While in high school and in my earlier years of post-secondary school, I did not have any knowledge of what a social worker was let alone know what duties they perform. It was in 2012 where I discovered the profession of a social worker. The profession came to my understanding when a situation came upon a particular family that attend my local church. This particular family felt in their hearts to take in two nephews into their home. This situation came about for them due to the condition of their home and the lifestyle that their single mother was

I came to Davidson Library on Wednesday at 12:30. When I walk in, I saw 6 workers at the front desk, 5 of which are female. 1 Female worker has a darker skin color, the rests are White. The tuck shop is open, I saw 3 workers in it without customers. The amount of people on first floor is obviously more than last week. With easily more than 30 students, most were studying individually. I saw 4 groups of 2 students studying together. 3 groups are Asian males, only 1 group is of different gender and race (estimate to be Latino). There are more students studying with their laptop and text book than those who uses the desktop provided here. I saw more Asians on first floor than other race, and I saw more males than females. Most are studying without

When I asked five people what social work was, I got a variety of responses ranging from family to financial helpers. As Ira Colby says (2010), “the profession is a diverse one, and diversity means that the roles and tasks that social workers perform are varied and often poorly defined” (p. 8). This certain reflects when most people are asked, for example a friend of mine named Raven said at first that she “did not know,” then added after pausing for a minute “they go to people's houses to make sure their kids aren’t abused. They make sure kids are in a safe environment.” She was confused by the question at first and took several moments to put together a response. When I asked my mother she said that social work means “serving families that

The theory that most closely explains and addresses this phenomenon is the ecological theory. In this theory it states that many factors contribute to one main problem. In this case the main issue is poverty. Poverty, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the lowest possible level that a person can be. In order to move out of this level one must first acquire food, water, shelter and a sense of safety. Programs and policies aimed at solving poverty is that sense of safety. With safety a person may feel comfort in that they know that they can receive their basic needs. Still, factors such as stress, worrying about the termination of these services, and stigma remain which can lead to weight gain, poor mental and

Assessing Issues of Gender in Social Work Practice: An Overview of the De-feminization of the Female

The individuals who choose the social work vocation do so with the good intention of helping the most vulnerable communities and individuals. Many times these eager, well-meaning individuals are shocked to stumble into a social work system that quickly challenges their naïve ideals of what “saving the world” actually means. A system that often imposes a factory-like approach to human beings who live in the most difficult of circumstances and have experienced a wealth of trauma, and (internalized) oppression. Social workers inadvertently become complicit in supporting a system focused more on numbers and economic gain and less on actual healing and providing possibility to individuals and families. Furthermore, without careful critical

Social Work’s core philosophy and values are centered around social justice and social well-being. Oppression, injustice, discrimination, and violence are antithetical to the social work profession. Social Work believes in strength-based approaches and the person-in-environment perspective to cater the needs and welfare of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society at large. Generally, the target populations for social work are vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed people; however, social workers provide services to people with a wide range of problems, such as poverty, addiction, mental illness, etc. to empower them to meet their own needs. Historically, the social work profession started its operation by providing neighborhood