What are some efficient ways to improve the public perception of social work? (Multiple answers)
- Realistic TV and film portrayals of social work. (31%, 648 Votes)
- Less negative news coverage. (28%, 570 Votes)
- Educational government campaigns on the role of social work. (23%, 466 Votes)
- Making social workers more visible (e.g by placing them in schools). (18%, 378 Votes)
Total Voters: 963
Loading ...Black, Asian and minority ethnic social care staff face disproportionately high levels of workplace bullying, disciplinary action and fitness to practise referrals, while also being less likely than white counterparts to be appointed to jobs from shortlists*.
Those were among the damning findings from a Skills for Care study assessing the performance of 23 local authorities in England against a set of race equality measures regarding their social care workforces.
The authorities have volunteered to take part in the social care workforce race equality standard (SC-WRES), which is designed to illuminate the scale of workplace inequalities in order to shape action plans to reduce them.
Racial inequalities in the social care workforce
Based on data collected from the authorities from September to November 2023, the report found that, compared with white staff, black, Asian and minority ethnic social care workers had, in the past 12 months, been:
- half as likely to be appointed to a job from a shortlisting;
- 40% more likely to enter formal disciplinary processes;
- more than twice as likely, as a regulated professional, to enter fitness to practise processes;
- 20% more likely to experience harassment, bullying or abuse from people who use social care, relatives or the public;
- 30% more likely to experience harassment, bullying or abuse from a colleague and 90% more likely to have experienced this from a manager;
- 10% more likely to leave their organisation.
There was also a smaller proportion of staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background in senior management (12%) compared to their representation in the overall workforce (19%). The reverse was true for white staff, who made up 88% of senior management, compared with 81% of the workforce as a whole.
Likewise, while black, Asian and minority ethnic staff were underrepresented among those earning at least £70,000 a year (15% did so, compared to their 19% representation in the workforce), the opposite was true for white workers.
Differences between groups and service area
The data showed some variations in the experience of different groups and between children’s and adults’ services.
While black, Asian and minority ethnic workers were 0.4 times as likely to be appointed to a job in adult social care as white staff, they were 0.7 times as likely to be so in children’s services.
Though practitioners from Asian backgrounds were 1.1 times as likely to enter formal disciplinaries as white staff, staff from black backgrounds were 1.5 times as likely to do so.
Asian or Asian British staff in adult social care were twice as likely as white counterparts to have experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from a manager, while those in children’s services were 1.4 times as likely to experience this.
Black or black British adult social care practitioners, meanwhile, were 1.6 times as likely as white staff to have experienced bullying, harassment or abuse from a manager, while children’s counterparts were 2.5 times as likely to have had this experience.
Latest study to show racial disparities in social work
The report is the latest in a number of studies to identify racial and ethnic inequalities and disparities in the social care workforce.
For example, a 2021 survey of almost 2,000 social workers in England found that over a quarter (28%) had experienced racism from people they worked with over a 12-month period, while almost one in five (18%) disagreed that their organisation was doing enough to tackle the problem.
And last year, Social Work England reported that black social workers were both overrepresented in the fitness to practise concerns it received and disproportionately likely to have their case referred to a hearing, to determine whether their fitness was impaired.
‘A familiar, challenging and stark picture’ – PSWs
Social care leaders said the results of the SC-WRES raised significant concerns.
“The report presents and amplifies a sadly familiar, challenging, and stark picture of the professional working conditions and experiences faced by our colleagues and friends from Black and other minoritised groups,” said the co-chairs of the Adult Principal Social Worker Network and the Principal Children and Families Social Worker Network, in a joint statement.
“This disparity also reinforces further concerns about how racism and inequity is experienced by the children, families, adults, and communities who access our support services.
“We see this report as a necessary challenge to all of us working in social work and social care, particularly those in positions of influence and leadership, to consider local and national responses and actions to address the significant differences in data indicators, let alone individual experiences of Black staff, and to actively make use of the opportunity presented by development and application of the race equality standards.”
They added: “The PSW networks continue to prioritise anti-racism as an integral aspect of effective, evidence informed and hopeful social work –we will be leading further change with employers and practitioners informed by the standards.”
‘Long way to go’ to achieve inclusive, diverse workplaces
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services said the report’s findings “should make all of us across local authority social care services sit up and listen”.
“Fostering inclusive, diverse environments for staff from all backgrounds is often said to be a priority for local authorities but it is clear there is a long way to go if we are all to achieve this aim,” said the chair of the ADCS’s workforce development policy committee, Rachael Wardell.
“Diversity in the workplace matters both because representation matters and it is important that our workforce is able to reflect the local communities we serve and because discrimination may still impact on colleagues even as representation improve,” she added.
“However, workers from some groups, such as those from global majority backgrounds, can often face systemic barriers, including on their journey to leadership and we have evidence that some employers experience a higher turnover of staff in these groups, which ought to prompt reflection as to the reasons why.”
Race equality data ‘identifying actions for leaders to take’
She said promoting equality and diversity, particularly in leadership roles, “continues to be a priority for the association”, and it saw the SC-WRES as providing an opportunity to identify what leaders could do to tackle inequalities.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services issued a similar message.
“People from black and minority ethnic backgrounds make a huge contribution providing essential care and support to people, but these new figures show more work is needed to tackle inequalities and unfairness they face working in social care,” said joint chief executive Anna Hemmings.
“It’s unacceptable that anyone experiences harassment or bullying at work, but the reality is it’s much more likely to happen to those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and that needs to change. The Skills for Care report is vital to helping us understand the issues, so we can start to address them.”
*Correction: The story originally said that black, Asian and minority ethnic were less likely to be shortlisted for jobs than white colleagues, rather than less likely to be appointed from shortlists. We apologise for the error.
Assistive technology and dementia: practice tips 
A trauma-informed approach to social work: practice tips 
Find out how to develop your emotional resilience with our free downloadable guide 
Develop your social work career with Community Care’s Careers and Training Guide 
‘Dear Sajid Javid: please end the inappropriate detention of autistic people and those with learning disabilities’
Ofsted calls for power to scrutinise children’s home groups
Seven in eight commissioners paying below ‘minimum rate for home care’
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Instagram
Again nothing about social workers from travelling family backgrounds , even discrimated by not being recognised in own right
Divisive. Dubious. Hierarchy of racism anyone?
Wouldn’t social workers from travelling families be classified along with minority social workers? The clue is in minority
No surprises. Irrefutable data. Will SWE and co spring into action now? Will they hell.
Personally I am tired of “listening” and want people in positions of responsibility with government leverage to take Action. Prejudice and discrimination on any grounds, as social workers / in sw organisations is utterly contemptible. We need Action against racism, particularly systemic barriers to include home office policies and regulatory processes. Anti-racism posts need to be prioritised in LAs but to be funded not a voluntary specialist interest- and to have backing to effect actual change.
Directors said it made them sit up and listen? Only now – this is not new news – except now there is data! Listening is fine but what the hell are you going to do about it?
This has been the case since I have been in social work for over thirty years, this is unlikely to change unless their is a degree of honesty and acceptance of the issue from senior leadership in social work. This has been now complicated further by bringing social workers from African countries and Asia who are not supported sufficiently and then find themselves in the disciplinary process
I was recruited from an African country in 2020 and faced disciplinary processes early 2023 despite receiving inadequate support from management
If ADCS and the rest are only just sitting up and listening, imagine how many social work careers they have destroyed thus far with their ignorance and unconscious bias. How many more social workers need to be sacrificed before they realise the impact this on recruitment and retention? Action needed – NOW!
I stopped looking for Social Work jobs after graduation because I couldn’t even get a foot in. Now many years later I’m still receiving emails from agencies desperate for Social workers. Someone advised me not to pursue this career path before I even went to university and they were absolutely right. It’s riddled with beurocracy. I kept being told I needed more experience eventhough I had completed my work placements which comes as part of the course. I believe I would have been a good Social worker if I was given the chance to showcase my competence.
I imagine Wayne Reid is thinking to himself “Great, you slow coaches have finally caught up!”
Even his colleagues at BASW haven’t “caught up” so it’s dubious Social Work leaders will. Trouble with our professional cultures, bought into by unfortunately by majority of social workers and Dames, Knights the rest of our Leaders, is that it mistakes statements of intent as a sincere acknowledgement that changes should be made. In 10 years time when a new cohort of self defined anti-racists supposedly committed to anti-oppressive management practices take over, while awaiting their King to bestow them with Empire ‘honours’, the same arguments and the same sentiments will be rehashed and those of us who don’t have any confidence in our current leadership will still have none in the new ones. And that goes for BASW too if it still exists which I personally don’t believe will be the case. As for SWE Wes Streeting has plans for social care regulation that they’ll definitely won’t find palatable. American regulators are on the way and the gravy train for English quangos is going their way. Perhaps the ignoble demise of SWE will see an improvement in social worker vacancies being filled by those highly skilled ready to go ‘colleagues’.
Although it’s aimed at Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, this open letter from Professor Gus John is directly applicable to SWE, BASW, Skills for Care, ADCS, ADASS and the whole caboodle:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GyNKLC4epC6T-8K-WM_d7H_-tbL0VqDD/mobilebasic