Equality, diversity, and inclusion are, of course, a core aim of social work practice. Prejudice and social injustice are often linked to other social issues which negatively affect people’s lives. In a child and family social work context, social workers can play a key role in empowering and supporting families to embrace equality and inclusion.

What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean? 

Ensuring equality means that people are offered the same opportunities and privileges, regardless of characteristics like age, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or their beliefs.

Diversity is about celebrating, respecting and finding value in the differences between people. A diverse group of people can share a variety of perspectives, cultures and lived experiences.

Inclusion focuses on social experiences. It’s important that people from all backgrounds feel both valued and included. Rather than simply introducing rules to ensure people have the same opportunities, a truly inclusive organisation or group should have a culture which makes everyone feel welcome.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are, of course, a core aim of social work practice. Prejudice and social injustice are often linked to other social issues which negatively affect people’s lives. In a child and family social work context, social workers can play a key role in empowering and supporting families to embrace equality and inclusion.

Self-reflection is another area of particular relevance to social work practice. Services are constantly being evaluated and reflected upon to ensure that all segments of society are treated fairly when they interact with social workers. Through reflection, unconscious or institutional biases can be identified and challenged.

How does this look in practice?

At a personal level, we know that improving outcomes for vulnerable families, children and young people is one of the main things which attracts people to the profession. For practitioners, these values are a core part of Social Work England’s Professional Standards, and all social workers are expected to promote social justice, actively working with the communities they support to overcome discrimination, disadvantage and inequality of opportunity.

As a social worker, keeping up to date with the latest thinking on equality, diversity and inclusion is an essential part of providing that support, and a popular choice for CPD and training. Often, our training courses will focus on topics which support this, such as working with neurodiverse young people, or understanding how cultural differences may affect family dynamics.

For social work employers, there is also a responsibility to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion as an organisation.  Acting on these values is a continuous process of reflection and improvement. While social work as a profession has become increasingly diverse, there is more work to be done so that the workforce reflects the communities they serve. In terms of ethnicity and culture. As seen in similar “caring” professions, gender is another area of imbalance, as almost 9 in 10 social workers are women nationally (89%) and in Yorkshire & Humber (87%). Workforce diversity is important for both social workers and the families they support, as shared lived experience helps to ensure the best possible support.

We've pulled together some useful links and resources on the above topic, with even more available to CSWM members (including full webinars and other in-depth materials). 

• Children's Social Services leaders in Sheffield got together to discuss the city's journey to become truly anti-racist, and the implications of this for social work practice:

• The Call It Out project in Sheffield has put together an insightful video sharing LGBTQ+ experiences of abuse 

• TACT have compiled a range of resources for anyone looking to learn more about Black Lives Matter or racial injustice in general.

• This episode of the Social Matters Podcast discusses anti-racism in social work and the experiences of social workers of colour

• This blog post by Calum Webb at Sheffield University discusses the links between structural racism and other forms of inequality, and makes the case for social work to focus on being both anti-racist and anti-poverty.

• The Social Care Workplace Race Equality Standard (WRES) was launched in April 2021. This initiative links 18 local authorities, the DfE and DHSC with the aim of better understanding marginalisation to help social care departments to address inequality. This blog by Isabelle Trowler explains more about this important new standard.