‘Men’ as Social Workers: Professional Identities, Practices and Education

Feminist theory has a central role in critiquing men’s practices as social workers and service users, as well as in analysing how masculinities are (re)produced by and within social work. Men’s positions as social workers remain contentious, with men remaining numerically under-represented as social workers and over-represented as social work managers in most countries. Again in nearly all countries, men social workers are employed in a profession where most social work service users are women, and most issues that social workers regularly address are the consequence of direct and indirect violence by men. In addition, men as service users are often absent, or reluctantly present, in many areas of social work. This chapter explores men’s positions both as social workers and within social work education. While men’s presence in social work may create possibilities to unsettle ‘hegemonic masculinities’, their presence also continues to legitimate patriarchal gender relations. Feminist theories and Critical studies of men in social work raise important questions about men’s relationships with feminism and provide opportunities to critically examine how gender is (re)produced within professional contexts as well as point to the possible development of pro-feminist practices for men social workers.