Social workers understand how diversity and difference characterize and shape the human experience and are critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including but not limited to age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status. Social workers understand that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaim. Social workers also understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values, including social, economic, political, and cultural exclusions, may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create privilege and power.
Social workers:
- Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
- Present themselves as learners and engage clients and constituencies as experts of their own experiences.
- Apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies.
- Use inclusive strategies that carefully consider the context of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and/or communities and challenge common assumptions, solicit ideas, and gain inspiration from clients and other relevant stakeholders.
A social worker should recognize that diversity plays a part in an individual’s identity in society. We should be able to understand how someone’s cultural differences can result in discrimination, oppression, and marginalization. As a hispanic woman, I can relate to various communities from personal experience. But this can also be a disadvantage when I come across client from an opposite background than me. I may be part of the minority group in Tennessee but in south Florida I may be part of the majority population. To further uphold this competency, I will put my own experiences aside and present myself as a learner to fully grasp the individual’s experience.
Academic Evidence:
1. As a professional with a spiritual background, I must be aware and respect other people’s beliefs. The foundation of my moral and belief system should not be imposed on my future clients. This also goes along with self-determination, the client has the freedom to make their own choices and decisions. In the link below, you will be directed to Integration of Faith and Practice: Part II paper for the course Integrative Seminar I taught by Professor Wilder. In this paper I reflect on my own values and what it means to be a Christian social worker. I also briefly explain my worldview and how I can acknowledge my own bias’s to improve my practice.
Integration of Faith and Practice Paper part 2
2. I was able to apply my classroom knowledge into action with the exercise linked below. I created an eco-map for my pseudo client during the assessment phase of our interaction. The Person-in-Evironment theory went well with the eco-map because it illustrates how the pseudo client is being affected by their surroundings. Clients come from various backgrounds and their environment helps mold them into who they are. This type of diversity affects their worldview and may interfere with the services they have access to.
Field Evidence:
3.The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition is involved in monthly Racial Equity Committee Meetings hosted by various agencies in the Eastern Tennessee area. The goals of these meetings are to ensure the CoC and associated programs and agencies are accountable to the communities that we serve and address housing segregation and discrimination. Below you will find a chart on how agencies can identify if their services are discriminating a population. A professional can use this chart to become aware of where they stand with their status of services they offer.
Going to these meetings has taught me to take pride in my culture in the workplace and share my thoughts when feasible or productive with my white colleagues. I found a message in the NASW’s Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion Department page that supports my action/desire for inclusivity in the workplace. “Examine your behavior. Unexamined behaviors are some of the biggest stumbling blocks to addressing biases. Discuss with a trusted colleague, your thoughts and acknowledge how you might be in denial about your behavior. Then, work on getting out of denial. Be intentional. Make conscious efforts to get to know people who are different from you. Resist this urge to shy away from people who are different from you. Get comfortable being uncomfortable” (Hobdy, 2020).
Hobdy, D. M. (2020, June 24). National Association of Social Workers (NASW). NASW – National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Ethics-Education-and-Resources/Ethics-Resources-for-Racial-Equity/A-Message-About-Racism