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Dare to Ask: I’m a social worker; get off my case

By PHILLIP MILANO

Question

I am a social worker and want to know what people think of people in the profession. I am a conservative white female. However, because I am a social worker, people tend to think I must be a “bleeding-heart liberal” because I work with people who are less fortunate or have mental health problems. Also, is there a stereotype of women in this profession being “dowdy”?

Linda, 55, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Replies

There is a stereotype of a dowdy-looking woman, one less hip, stylish or elegantly attired. I think this has to do with the well-known salary limitations of this field. People think that social workers couldn’t afford to dress sharp, and I also think there is an “earth-mother” connotation.

Erika, 32, Madison, Wis.

I have two friends who work for Department of Children and Families here in Florida. One was in the field about 10 years, and the other I knew as she was entering the field. The first was disgusted, unhappy and counting the days until retirement. The second was full of hope and good intentions. Now, years later, they both act like a truck has run over them. No compassion, very racist and try to suck up every benefit the state gives them to make the whole thing worthwhile. The system is set up to fail its clients and employees. State workers are beaten down to complacency and indifference. Yes, they do get dowdy and ill-tempered. All the play is taken out of the pup, so to speak.

Valerie, 45, Fort Lauderdale

I used to work in a department of social services in Virginia and found all the social workers to be wonderful people – basically compassionate and caring. None were dowdy. Most were quite attractive and interesting.

Annie, 51, Lawrenceville, Ga.

I am a social worker and feel there is a lot of negativity toward the profession. When I tell someone I am a social worker, the typical response is “Oh, you poor thing” or “You must not make much money.” I would not have chosen this career if I didn’t love it, and I don’t focus on the money aspect. People need to realize what social workers really do – and no, we don’t all take children away from their parents.

Terry, female, Newport, R.I.

Expert says

Here are some truths about all those hairbun-wearing, ruffled-blouse sporting, bespectacled social workers out there (kidding!):

About 80 percent are women, their median age is between 45 and 54, they earn an average of $40,000 to $60,000 a year, a little more than half are married or in a domestic partnership, and many are happy in their profession but experience stress because of heavy case loads, according to surveys done by the National Association of Social Workers.

Are they all lefti . . . um, liber . . . er, progressives?

“No, they come from the entire range of the political spectrum,” said Tracy Whitaker, director of the NASW Center for Workforce Studies in Washington. “Part of the stereotype is that the field attracts a certain political persuasion, but in fact what’s unifying is our mission and adherence to a code of ethics. It doesn’t matter who you vote for for president.”

What Whitaker sees as the most negative stereotype is the idea that social workers are all just “working from the goodness of their hearts.”

The problem with that stereotype is it can overshadow the truth that social workers are professionals, with college degrees and lots of training.

“Our hearts might bring us to the work, but we are taking more to the job than just good hearts. We are bringing skills and knowledge,” she said.

As far as the whole dowdy thing, Whitaker said TV shows haven’t helped, as many have tended to laser in on such stereotypes when portraying social workers.

“Starting in the ’70s you saw social workers [portrayed as] making field visits and looking under beds of people to see if they were defrauding the system,” she said.

“However, I will say that because so many social workers are in the field and doing home studies and visits, that I’m sure dowdy isn’t the right word, but it may be that comfortable shoes are doing us in on that one. But overall, the social workers I know are professional. That’s important, because they are the voice of people who often don’t have a standing in a particular system. And it wouldn’t be doing any good to have an advocate who is unprofessionally attired representing them.”

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