Study: Social Work, Professors, Other Jobs Politically Typecast
Many men do not aspire to be nurses because nursing has long been typecast as a woman’s career.
The same rule likely applies to college professors, social work, art, fashion and therapy, according to two sociologist who did a study on typecasting in careers. Political liberals tend to flock to these professions because there is already a wide public perception that people who share a left-leaning political slant work in these fields.
Conservatives tend to work in law enforcement, farming, dentistry, medicine and the military because they believe they will find like-minded peopel there, according to sociology researchers Neil Gross and Ethan Fosse. Gross is at the University of British Columbia and Fosse is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University.
“The irony is that the more conservatives complain about academia’s liberalism,” Gross said, “the more likely it’s going to remain a bastion of liberalism.”
To read a New York Times article on the study click here. To read the full study click here.
Q: Do you think it is true people in social work tend to be more liberal? Are you a conservative or do you know conservatives who are social workers?
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I am happy to be a moderate because being liberal takes away expectations and responsibilities from clients; being conservative lays blame of life’s uncontrolled factors at the feet of the client. There has to be a balance in order to make fair and just decisions, or to have more favorable opportunities for the client. Unfortunately the media casts social workers as bleeding heart liberals or stone-hearted vile people, and some of us play the role. — Chanda Roberts White BSW Member on NASW’s National Board
I think if more people knew what social workers did the general opinion of them would be different. We are about empowerment and responsibility – not excuses and blame. I agree too that when I was a “new” Social Worker I was far more liberal than I am now – I now appreciate the need to view systems as a whole, which includes looking to the right and to the left!
I am a conservative social worker, in college the instructors wanted to kick me out for correcting their mis-information and failure to teach the facts rather than liberal ideologies. I had the facts and could back up everything I said, thus I remained. Instructors in social work are suppose to be unbiased and promote the idea of not showing/pushing your personal values system on students and clients, yet, the liberal ones go overboard and are so closed minded they can’t see.
There are many conservative social workers but most are too afraid to show their true self because of retaliation, they suffer knowing they are doing good work only to get burned out. Most conservative social workers I believe go into private practice to avoid the liberal falsehood environment. The interesting thing is that the liberal social workers and NASW contradict themselves on several issues. You promote self determination but then you must keep someone from harming themselves, and then abortion & assisted suicide is ok but the death penalty is not.
As conservative social workers and more men enter the field, things will change for the better. I have seen a more conservative slant the past 10 years. The other factor is social workers are trying to gain more credibility and to do this they must have more evidenced based studies and literature. The evidence proves teaching clients how to fish is much more effective than just giving clients the fish. If more conservative groups and think tanks would get involved with social work, the liberal social work ideology can be contained and the actual facts can be used in social work practice.
And yes, often I am denied jobs and opportunities because I am a conservative.
I’m a very conservative social worker. I do think that as a whole the the social work profession teaches students to be liberal minded. Sometimes while in my undergrad and even now in my grad program I feel a little sick to my stomach as I read things that clearly assume that liberal ideologies are not only BETTER but are RIGHT. I find that I have to be careful to discern truth and error from what I hear and read. I have been blessed to attend two universities that have a strong base in teaching students not only facts but how to learn and take charge of their own educations. That is invaluable to me. Also, I have had two universities where even if I do not agree with the proposed ideas I’m free to express myself without fear of grade reduction or social humiliation.
I agree with the idea that conservative social workers are more apt to work in a private organization. It is a good way to be true to yourself sometimes. Currently I am paid through medicaid, and I feel a bit hypocritical when I compare that to my political ideals. I’m working towards owning my own private company that will satify my desire to help the poor and such.
I wish that conservative social workers would in general speak up a little more and let their position be heard. In a profession that generally advocates for clients (politically) in ways I find harmful to the clients themselves and society (as well as at times morally wrong), we need more sound conservative voices out there.
I absolutely agree that there are far more liberals in the social work/therapy professionals than conservatives. As the only (frustratingly so) conservative/Republican in my workplace agency, I find that most, if not all, of my left-leaning co-workers are typically and expectedly not terribly grounded in reality, believe they will never get ahead in their careers, are “held back” by “the man,” want to save the world, and want social justice/equality (presumably for themselves). Ironically enough, in a field where we are dedicated to others gaining insight, balance and personable accountability, most of my coworkers are no where near this goal themselves, and rarely capable of seeing the other side of things politically and socially. One of my coworkers mentioned to me that there are indeed conservatives in this profession; funny, I have yet to meet one.
In the 2008 election, I was deemed “racist,” a now defunct and meaningless word, by a co-worker for simply voicing my views via a bumper sticker and supporting Sarah Palin. This accusation was done in public at the workplace by a supposed “open minded, responsible and tolerable” social worker. Trust me, I will never do so again for fear of losing my job.
And you will notice I did not use the word “peer.” This implies I believe my coworkers to be like-minded and equal to me. And yes, I am proudly elitist, although perfectly capable of seeing “the other side,” just not agreeing with it!
Ok, for the record people-social work IS a “liberal profession”. Look at the founder of social work-Jane Addams: one of the initial founders of the NAACP, major supporter of worker’s rights/labor unions, worked with immigrants and the poor in a SECULAR setting called the Hull House, was extremely opposed to WWI. I could go on forever here, but when you look at the founders of the profession, there is a clear liberal/progressive position.
From anecdotal evidence, most of the people who gripe about social work being liberal have no idea what social work actually is. Social work is founded on the person in environment perspective ie change a person’s environment and they will be better. Human rights are the lens through which we practice. We do not get to determine which rights we honor or do not honor. There are many many many helping professions and degrees out there that have no requirements for social justice. If you do not want the corresponding social justice requirements that come with the profession go into counseling/psychology/criminal justice/sociology/etc, etc. There are even religiously based programs in these fields such as Christian Counseling. You can then go on and practice your religious convictions at a job through a church or religious institution.
As for the person who said that they constantly were being kicked out of class because they would get in arguments with professors and they could beat them-get a life. Trying to harass professors because they disagree with you=lame. I am gay and have many times bitten my tongue when I have heard things that made me uncomfortable because I respected the process and procedure of education. I would then send an email to the offending party and explain what they did that made me feel uncomfortable. This has always worked better for me than trying to hash it out with someone in public.
Second, being conservative and being Republican are two very different things. Republicans are radical right-wingers now. There are no more compromisers left in their party. I can respect people who say they are conservative and can voice a reasoned, intelligent rationale for why they believe what they do-but saying you support Sara Palin immediately points to this not being the case. And racist is not a defunct word…
Final note-if you don’t like Christianity don’t be a pastor-if you don’t like blood don’t work in the medical field-if your personal ideology does not allow you to agree with liberal/progressive ideas then DON’T become a social worker. I do not think there is anything wrong with people realizing that they don’t belong in a certain field or profession.
WOW i completely disagree with David’s view that you must have a liberal ideology in order to affectively be a social worker. I think that what is meant by “person in enviroment” is that the social worker is responsible for helping their client to make positive changes in their immediate life. Making positive changes in the life of someone in poverty, would be seen by the client seeking a good paying job that supports the person and helps the client to move out of poverty. The focus should be on job creation, effective job training, etc. The liberal progressive view point is to provide aid and focus negatively on the rich, the evil corporations, etc. You can see this in todays crazy economy which is collapsing. View points from people like Piven and Cloward only help to put people on welfare and collapse a free market economy. Clearly I don’t believe in a socialist agenda. I believe in the fundemental idea of hard work and charity to help people get back on there feet. But I think that the left wing liberal idea is to keep people on welfare and I don’t think this makes the economy function to the point that we are able to provide jobs.
The other complaint I have with David’s view point is that if i’m a conservative I don’t have the right to argue my point of view and go into the field to social work. In case you hadn’t noticed, the top profession coming out of the field of social work is a licensed clinical social worker who works with clients in many areas such as mentally ill, medical, parenting, child abuse, victim advocacy, substance abuse, schools, etc. Having a liberal view point is not the only type of person who can be supportive and affective for clients in these areas. I don’t expect my teachers to promote their biased opinions without giving me a broad perspective on theories and rationales so that I can affectively come to my own opinions and decide what approach is best for me.
I think your liberal push in the field of social work limits its effectiveness and that has definately been seen in the lack of accomplishments in stoppping poverty, reducing drug dependancy, just to name a few.
I think the notion that liberal social workers want to “keep people on welfare” is absurd and this is not a view that should be espoused by any social worker who has read the code of ethics. No social worker in their right mind, regardless of which way they lean politically, wants this. As social workers we strive always toward the independence of our clients. But let’s face it: conservatives, more than ever, are out to destroy our social programs. Being a social worker and also a Christian, I once was greatly conflicted about my politics. I do have some conservative views involving restrictions on abortions, and for a short time I felt I had no choice but to align myself with the conservative party. As a social worker AND as a Christian I NEVER felt comfortable with it. I don’t subscribe to extremist views either way but I saw being conservative as the lesser of evils. Eventually I came to realize how naive, duped and propagandized I was. There IS NO “Christian” party just as there is no social work party. I now would identify myself as a conservative member of the Christian left and I feel light years more at home with that. At least, as “at home” as I am going to get regarding politics. I now have a much clearer vision of where I stand even though it has actually cost me some friends. What I have learned is that overly simplistic views just don’t work and our whole political system is in dire need of change.
David is embarrassingly wrong and quite a disgrace. Jane Addams was chosen by social workers as the founder, she never embraced the concept herself. Anyone educated in the history of social work knows that. David sounds like he may have had a semester in undergrad and thinks he now knows it all. Very sad and silly. “republicans are radical right wingers” wow, so much for nuanced critical thinking. No social worker worth anything would label people in such a way. Please do not listen to that angry, judgmental, incorrect goofball.