Later feminist theories remind us, rather, that gender is a social relationship, based upon the promotion of hierarchy, and one that is reiterated through interactions in everyday life. However, sometimes this notion of gender as a set of cultural practices has been reduced to role or identity, so that gender is treated as a preexisting characteristic or property of the individual. Second-wave feminism, for example, separated the concept of “sex” from “gender,” in order to show that “gender” refers to a set of social expectations that may be challenged ( Oakley, 1972 Unger, 1979). In part, these points relate to the ways in which gender is defined. This tends to individualize gender, to see it as a personal characteristic, and to see gender oppression merely as a form of personal behavior or values. While he does go on to point out that social, rather than biological, processes produce gender, it is largely at the level of attitudes that his suggestions for change are leveled. Thompson’s text, for example, describes gender as a “fundamental dimension of human experience, revealing an ever-present set of differences between men and women” ( Thompson, 2012: 55). Yet these, too, often rely upon limited accounts. Third, the question of how power works within social work institutions, and how this relates to gender, is likely to be a lot more complicated.ĭiscussions about challenging oppression and discrimination within social work theory and practice are some of the few occasions on which gender is openly acknowledged ( Dominelli, 2002a Mullaly, 2007 Thompson, 2012). First, the smaller number of men in the profession may actually hold more institutional power, and, second, a profession like social work is, as with many fields involving the care of others, devalued. This is an important argument since, to describe social work as “female-dominated” suggests that, merely because they are far greater in number, women hold more power. Yet, McPhail has argued that “social work is more correctly described as a female majority, male-dominated profession” ( McPhail, 2004b: 325), because, although there are many more women than men in the field, they do not necessarily dominate. It is frequently overlooked and, perhaps more importantly, where it is considered, gender is theorized in a number of rather limited ways.įor example, social work is often described as a female-dominated profession, but one in which men disproportionately occupy senior roles. Although a key feature of everyday life, within social work, gender has what sociologists sometimes call a “seen-but-unnoticed” quality. It is concerned, more precisely, with the conceptualization and usage of “gender” within social work theory, research, and practice. This article is a contribution to opening up the conversation on gender and social work.
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