Week 9: Part 1

Question 1

Why focus on women?

Answer 1

-Social Work is a gendered profession
-Approximately 78% of social workers are women
-Statistically, women are more likely to be on both sides of the social encounter
Workers: Social work is a female dominated profession
Clients: Women are more likely to rely on public services

Question 2

Intersectionality

Answer 2

This concept refers to an approach used in critical social work that takes into account the complex interplay of race, class, gender, sexuality, and other factors that impact life experiences.
-Gender as a category cannot be in isolation. Gender intersects with other aspects of identity.

Question 2

Intersectionality

Answer 2

This concept refers to an approach used in critical social work that takes into account the complex interplay of race, class, gender, sexuality, and other factors that impact life experiences.
-Gender as a category cannot be in isolation. Gender intersects with other aspects of identity.

Question 3

Sex

Answer 3

A set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.

Question 4

Sexism

Answer 4

Sexism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex- it can be blatant or subtle.

Question 5

Patriarchy

Answer 5

literally means “rule by the father”, or the domination of society by men and male interests.

Question 6

Gender

Answer 6

Refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources in society.

Question 7

Gender Identity

Answer 7

is not confined to a binary (girl/woman, boy/man) nor is it static; it exists along a continuum and can change over time.

Question 8

Gender equality

Answer 8

Equal opportunity to realize full human rights; to contribute as equal citizens to national, political, economic, social, and cultural development.

Question 9

The Four Waves of the Feminist Movement/ First Wave (1840s- 1920s)

Answer 9

Included the temperance movement, women’s missionary and charitable activities, and the suffragette movement.

Question 10

The Four Waves of the Feminist Movement/ Second Wave (1960s- 1980s)

Answer 10

Had a profound impact through the creation of consciousness-raising groups that questioned gender roles and traditional power relations.

Question 11

The Four Waves of the Feminist Movement/ Third Wave (1980s- 2000s)

Answer 11

Focused more attention on the idea of intersectionality, calling for a recognition that gender, ability, age, race, sexuality, class, and nationality intersect in shaping women’s experiences.

Question 12

The Four Waves of the Feminist Movement/ Fourth Wave (emerging)

Answer 12

Embraces digital technologies, including social media, as tools in women’s advancement.

Question 13

Equal Pay and Employment Equity

Answer 13

-Moving very slowly toward Employment Equity
-From the 1950s onward, increasing numbers of Canadian women entered the labour force, although rarely on equal terms with men.
-The industries and occupations open to women were generally less prestigious
-Women’s incomes were inferior to those of men in same occupations.
-Women were expected to tend to their children, husband, and household affairs, as well as earn an income outside the home.

Question 14

Fostering Greater Equality for Working Women

Answer 14

Many policy initiatives in the post-World War II period were aimed at fostering greater equality for women at work:

Equal-pay policies. Every province enacted legislation requiring equal pay for similar or substantially similar work.

Equal employment and employment equity. All provinces have employment legislation in place which prohibits discrimination (race, age, religion, nationality, or sex).

Equity-driven legislative and policy changes. Divorce laws, policies against sexual harassment at work,
extended maternity leave, policies to protect part-time and temporary workers, and equal access to higher education.

Question 15

The Double Burden

Answer 15

The overriding concern that women leave work at the end of the day only to find that they must still assume the “double burden” of work at home and in the family.

Much more needs to be done to ensure wage parity and equal job opportunities for women in Canada.

Question 16

Lack of Funding

Answer 16

There has been much discussion about the daycare crisis in Canada.

-There is a lack of government funding for child care.

-Costs are prohibitive and spaces are limited (with the exception of Québec, which has a public child-care system in place).

-The parents who most need help, often single mothers, face long waiting lists and struggle to find alternatives.

Question 17

Unequal Labour Markets

Answer 17

The problems Canadian women face in (and out) of the labour market are still widespread and persistent:
-Under-representation in management roles
-Large proportion of part-time workforce
-Low-wage employment
-Inadequate pensions
-Vulnerability during economic recessions
-Ineligibility for employment insurance

Question 18

Sexual assault

Answer 18

Sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual activity, including fondling, touching, and penetration, that is forced upon another person without that person’s consent.

Question 19

Sexual harassment

Answer 19

Sexual harassment is any unwanted behaviour, comment, gesture, or contact of a sexual nature that treats the person receiving it as a sexual object.

Question 20

Date Rape

Answer 20

Many sexual assaults occur when women are on a date.
-Acquaintance sexual assault is high in Canada
-The perpetrators were current or former partners, friends, or acquaintances.
-7% of sexual assaults on women were perpetrated by a family member or an authority figure.

Question 21

Family Violence & Domestic Violence

Answer 21

-Women are often the victims of police-reported violence
-Intimate partner violence includes spousal and dating violence
-People in same sex relationships are also vulnerable to violence by their partners

Question 22

How to Prevent it

Answer 22

Teach safe & healthy relationship skills
Engage influential adults & peers
Disrupt developmental pathways toward partner violence
Create protective environments
Strengthen economic support for families
Support survivors to increase safety & lessen harm

Question 23

The Aftermath of Sexual Assault/ How Social Workers can Help

Answer 23

Social workers play an important role in:
-sexual assault crisis centres
-sexual assault helplines
-sexual assault and domestic violence care and treatment centres
-sexual assault survivor centres, and
shelters or transition houses.

Social workers educate the public about sexual violence, advocate for women, and campaign for policy and systemic change.

Question 24

The Social Worker’s Role

Answer 24

The role of social workers in helping women who are survivors of abuse may include:
Intervening directly in a crisis
Facilitating an empowerment approach
Listening to the woman and empathetically responding
Sharing personal experiences if appropriate
Connecting the woman to a support group
Making appropriate referrals
Advising on legal rights and link to legal resources
Mobilizing safety, legal, and community resources
Providing full follow-up and counselling

Question 25

Supporting Survivors of Abuse/ Keeping Accurate Records

Answer 25

Practitioners who work with abused women often find it difficult to keep accurate records because they know that these records might be entered as evidence in court proceedings.
Social workers must be mindful of this possibility.
Social workers are expected to keep records or written documents that detail:
-The client’s situation
-The intervention(s) used, and
-The outcomes

Question 26

The Feminization of Poverty

Answer 26

Two Thirds of the Adult Poor Are Women

Question 27

Groups Vulnerable to Poverty

Answer 27

-Single mothers. The children of single mothers are almost 4 times more likely to be poor than in two-parent families.

-Visible minority women. 28% of women belonging to visible minority groups live in poverty. (Visible minority women = racialized women)

-Aboriginal women. 37% of Indigenous women in Canada live in poverty.

-Women with disabilities. 33% of women living in poverty have a disability.

-Older women. The biggest increase in old-age poverty occurred among older women, especially those who were divorced or separated (OECD, 2013).

Question 28

Racialization of Poverty

Answer 28

-Recent acts of racial violence have sparked global outrage and many conversations about systemic racism in many countries

-Systemic racism means that resources, power, & opportunity are systemically distributed to people who are white at the exclusion of people of colour

-Racial disparities therefore occur in employment, housing, education, healthcare, government, & incarceration

-As a result, racialized individuals and Indigenous communities in Canada experience poverty at disproportionately high rates.

-1 in 5 racialized families live in poverty, compared to 1 in 20 non-racialized families (Canada Without Poverty, 2020).

Question 29

Men’s Poverty vs. Women’s Poverty

Answer 29

-Women’s poverty is caused by different factors compared to men’s poverty.

-Men’s poverty is usually more directly related to low-wage employment.

-Intersectionality also affects men’s wages

-Women’s poverty arises from additional factors, such as:
-divorce and separation
-their responsibilities as mothers, homemakers, & caregivers.

Question 30

Advocating for Women’s Escape from Poverty

Answer 30

Spreading awareness about the scope of the problem is a critical step toward helping women move out of poverty.

-Social workers should challenge governments at all levels to develop specific strategies to deal with women’s employment, childcare, old-age security, family law, social assistance rates, and general income security.

-Investing in education and career-training programs for women can be of great aid to those who may be struggling to find adequate, full-time employment.

-Changes in policy that address employment discrimination against Indigenous women and women belonging to minority groups can directly improve their living conditions.

Question 31

The Components of Feminist Social Work Practice

Answer 31

-A belief that social structures & gender stereotypes perpetuate women’s subordination

-Many feminist principles and concepts are similar to those of social work practice, such as empowerment and examining society through a critical lens.

-In her 1995 book Feminist Practice in the 21st Century, Helen Land, an accomplished feminist clinical practitioner & professor, outlines 13 components of feminist social work practice.

Question 32

Thirteen Components of Feminist Social Work Practice

Answer 32

These 13 components offer a framework for understanding women’s experiences.

-They help social workers support women through difficult times and challenge wider structures and policies that foster gender inequality.

-The 13 principles are becoming an accepted part of standard social work practice.

1. Validating the social context.
2. Re-valuing positions enacted by women.
3. Recognizing differences in men’s and women’s experiences.
4. Readjusting perceptions of normality and deviance.
5. Taking an inclusive stance.
6. Heeding power dynamics in the client-worker relationship.
7. Recognizing how “the personal is political.”
8. Taking a deconstructive stance.
9. Taking a partnering stance.
10. Fostering inclusive scholarship.
11. Challenging reductionist models.
12. Adopting empowerment practice.
13. Countering the myth of neutral psychotherapy.