The perception of feminization of social work in Malta and the role of leadership

Abstract

This study on the feminisation of social work aims to explore what motivated social workers to choose this profession, their opinion on the numerical domination of women in social work and whether there is a gendered division of labour in this field, vertically and horizontally. These questions were answered and explored through a qualitative approach where semi structured in-depth interviews were conducted via Zoom with six participants. The data obtained was then analysed by means of thematic analysis, through which a number of themes were identified. The findings show that stereotypes on social work and social workers persist to this day - that is the fact that social work is a woman’s job. In addition, the findings show that there are still a minority of men who opt to become social workers, although the number has improved over the years. The key results show that men are asked to do certain tasks - such as the moving of furniture and being present in encounters when there is the liability that clients might have issues. The aspect of masculinisation and feminisation of service is rather balanced. Certain services, which necessitate that the social workers are more assertive and in services where there are a majority of male service users, one is more likely to find male social workers there. On the other hand, when it comes to clients who are victims of domestic violence, which in the majority of cases tend to be female service users, the social workers tend to be female. The findings of this study show that there is a need for more men in the social work profession, as this was a particular theme which was identified through the research. Through this study’s findings, one can also conclude that one will find both men and women in managerial positions in the profession, although the number of men in these positions might be over-representative of the number of men employed in this sector. Further studies on this regard are suggested. Further suggestions and recommendations that arose from this research have been included in the concluding chapter.