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Diversity and difference in social work
Gender issues and social work
Diversity and difference in social work
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Gender has a significant role in our daily lives on both a macro and micro level. A person’s gender relationship with the greater society in which they live continuously impacts their notions of self and permeates the social, political, and economic structures with which they interact. In this paper, I will examine how my learning in this course has developed and influenced my perception of what I bring to social work; further examining, and subsequently comparing and contrasting peer-reviewed journals regarding the gender equity issue; and concluding with learning goals that I hope to achieve throughout my next year in the social work program. Part A This course has contributed to developing my learning of what I bring to social work as …show more content…
Developing a base understanding of how gender impacts and interacts with policies and laws embedded within the societal structure has prompted me to critically examine the macro level elements that knowingly or unknowingly perpetuate the gender bias. The value of pursuing social justice for clients is of particular importance; advocating for equal, far, and non-discriminatory access to resources and basic human rights is a barrier that has been faced in the past and continues to contain obstacles for both women and less frequently, men (CASW Code of Ethics, 2005). Practicing in a manner that recognizes the interwoven systems of oppression and how they relate to the individual is essential to exacting structural reform that more equally allocates resources and access to those resources, as well as policies and procedures. The actions that social workers make on a daily basis and the ways in which they interact with their clients should reflect the goals and core values of social work practice. I believe that understanding the gender component will better help in gaining an adequate depth of a client’s relation and own perceptions about their individual social location, seeing as it is a reality that deeply-rooted patriarchal beliefs in societal context have had an enormous impact on the lives of both men and women and continues to in present-day
At the beginning of the semester, I did not know what the "Service Learning and Social work Practice" course mean. However, through the process, with the accompaniment of Professor Preeti Charania, I understood the course and noticed a lot of transformation in me through the semester. The following are some of the changes and growth I have seen in me from class readings, discussions, group works, and working with the Church World Service (CWS) agency.
The narrow view of the world that we often experience prevents us from even engaging for or against ideals that we would take on, given the chance. We often become deaf to opportunity, however. While it may seem we are complicit in many of the injustices that our society perpetuates, often times we are not even aware of the issue. An uninformed decision will be as bad as no decision. Many problems exude from the state of our social values. The role that women play in society is slowly changing from that of a ‘nurturer’ to any role a woman strives for. Progress has come through much pain and the hope is one day there will be real equality in the results of our societies spoken and unspoken laws.
The distinction between sex and gender are differences in assumptions about causality, extent of similarity or difference between the sexes and on the covert political agendas in sex differences. Epistemological reflections like how gender is constructed and maintained in social practices were research concerns to Unger. Her book, The Lenses of Gender, is worth mentioning for its radical rethinking of the importance and possibility of transforming cognitive structures that hold gender in place. Oliva Espin gave another important addition to the feminist perspective through her articles focused on feminist therapy with women of colour. She raised the concern for including diversity among women into the feminist perspective. Her contribution was to “distill he significance of gender in the psychological development of women who are twice or sometimes thrice ‘othered’ by ‘mainstream’ psychology” (Espin, 1997). Stephanie Riger (2000), regarding how misguided efforts to empower women in individualistic ways might undermine the community connections and the larger picture of feminist efforts, took up a critique of feminist efforts. The emphasis on all power hierarchies, not just limited to gender was seen in the works of feminist psychologists of the late 90s. The topics researched were social class and education (Ostrove & Cole, 2003), low-income women’s perceptions of status and opportunity (Bullock & Limbert, 2003), beliefs about social class and caste (Mahalingam, 2003). Related research explicitly challenges the essentialist notions like women are ‘the non-aggressive sex’ and that aggression among females are ‘in competition for men’ (Day, Brandon, & McFadden,
The differences of communication between male and female gender affect social work education when the 3 areas are concerned: training students for social work, interaction between staff members and interaction between students and faculty members. Communication is one very significant tool in the social work where teaching and developing of relations is concerned. This article explains gender difference from perspective of cross-culture. Men listen to act accordingly and women listen so that they could complete some missing scenario and ask more questions than men. Conversation topics are started by women though concluded finally by men. According to research, women interrupt more and generally males talk more. There are many biological and psychological theories which explain these differences. These differences could better be understood when communication which is cross-cultural takes place.
Most of the current social work clients and workers are women. This gender is also over-represented among women, which implies that women continue to face considerable issues in the modern society despite the changes in the traditional role of men and women in the society. Social welfare policy are usually developed and implemented to confront various issues in the society including the plight of women. However, recent statistics demonstrate that social welfare policy does not always meet women’s needs effectively. This is regardless of the fact that sexism and heterosexism play a crucial role is shaping social welfare policy. Therefore, it is important to develop effective social welfare policy
The world one lives in it happens to grasp that all humans are designed as equals. This is far-off from reality based on how this society is operating. The principle of equality does not imply that everyone is the same, nevertheless that everyone should be treated as equals unless special circumstances apply. When it comes to the two sexes, everything that comes in its bounds is either biased intentionally or unintentionally, either way it continues. A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating what is acceptable or appropriate for a person’s sex. One could be aware of the characteristics and factors of identity that enables others to treat another differently by analyzing the aspects of society through race, religion, language, sexual orientation, economic status and also the level of education. The theory of equality is somewhat understandable, but what about the female population? Where is their equality in this society?
My view on social work has changed dramatically because of what I’ve learned so far in this course. I now realize social work is a global profession, and can take many forms. I was unaware that social work has become a global awareness across countries. Learning this has really interested me in
Working with others and improving own learning and performance are highly essential skills in social work. In this essay I will reflect on how well I have developed these two skills and what I need to do to improve them.
I found the topics discussed last week really interesting, that of gender blending, but the genderfuck panel ready caught my attention. I come from a close-minded, religious family that bites into society’s expectations. They remain living in the binary world that has taught us that there are only two acceptable genders, male and female, and as a result everything we do is shaped by that idea. Therefore, my parents reinforced the gender expectations by the way they raised me. They taught me how to act, what I can and can’t say or do and even what to wear. My toys, my clothes, my girl friends all influenced what it meant to be a girl. Growing up I never questioned it, since that was the norm for me; my parents set the perfect example of what
The Center building of Lane Community College holds a threshold of student life. With a plethora of seating areas, food options, and caffeine access there’s no surprise that this building serves as the metaphorical coral reef of campus. Students enter as singles and pairs, filling the rooms with a flurry of nonverbal communication. A student bumps shoulders playfully with their friend and the rest of the group giggles in acknowledgement, while a pair of boys share an uncomfortable glance when one
Overall, the concept of masculinity has become widely accepted as truth in society. History has shown that men have been expected to live up to standards constructed by those in power in order to be viewed as ‘real men’. Unfortunately, this norm has rarely been challenged and it can cause many problems including thinking that a man who is out late at night is dangerous, or it can stem out to larger social issues such as homophobia. Thus, we must stop accepting these norms as true and instead search for our own truths. Social workers must become aware of the power that is present in working relationships and attempt to help clients build their own identity while using minimum domination and working in the least oppressive way (Foote & Frank, 1999).
The second lesson is that if I really want to become a good social worker I need to be open to all the areas of social work that including the macro aspect. I should not only focus on one thing but rather get involved in the bigger issues related to the field. I also take from this class the importance of becoming involved in our own community. Due to the Consensus Building Plan assignment I feel closer to my community and more eager to get involved than before. I want to take what I have learned in this class and put it in practice in my community and hope to contribute to making it a better
Throughout this term I have learned a lot about my values, attitudes, and beliefs, and I feel confident in my growing skills as a counsellor. In my first journal, I discussed how I am in the process of discovering my own triggers and how I am surprised that my triggers do not necessarily correlate with what I would deem as the most distressing experiences of my life. As I have started the process of self-reflection and awareness, I have learned more specifically what my triggers are, my physiological and psychological reactions to them, and ways that I can overcome them to not impact the session. Throughout this term, other
I would to begin this paper with an authentic definition of the Social Work field. Social work practices involves facilitating change—in other words, working with others, not doing something to them or for them(Dubois). Most people and social workers would always use the world ‘help’ in some way or form when defining social workers. Which is true but the confusion come in when asked where they work, who they assist and how they differ from other helping professions. Social workers can be sustain abuse therapists, child welfare specialists, and school social workers. We are not limited to just the department of social services. They can work in nursing homes, hospitals, and even in legislation.
Since the 19th century, the women's movement has made fantastic strides toward obtaining civil rights for women in America. Woman suffrage has been abolished, and they are no longer viewed as second-class citizens. Unfortunately, the issue of gender inequality still echoes in today's society. The fight to change a society shaped predominately by men continues, and will likely pursue for decades to come. Whether it be social, political, or economic rights, the main idea is equality for all genders, man or woman. In modern society, it seems that such a simple concept should be accepted globally by everyone – so why do women still face the daily toils of demanding the privileges that should available to all? No matter the class of woman, it is likely they will suffer from inequality and stereotypes at some point in their life. We see this in the workplace, where women have been shown to earn less then men. Some women also face the dangers of sexual violence, and are left victimized for such crimes.