Women have always played an important, and dominant, role in social work. Originally published in 1975, their special contribution to the profession is the theme of this book, in which demographic data, biographical material and records of social work organizations are skilfully used to show how women shaped the development of social work from 1860 to the 1970s, often in the face of strong male resistance.
Covering the earlier years of the period, Dr Walton examines the links with the general movement for women’s rights as well as differences in the attitudes of women social workers to those of the suffrage movement. He shows how the growing influx of men into social work in more recent times has affected the position of their female colleagues. He discusses variations in the proportion of sexes in probation, psychiatric social work, child welfare and medical social work, analyses typical patterns of employment for women social workers, and evaluates the appointment, in 1971, of directors of the social services. The author also looks into the future, exploring the potential contribution of women to the social work profession, with suggestions as to how the problems of women’s employment in social work might be overcome.
Author(s): Ronald G. Walton
Series: Routledge Library Editions: Women and Work, 17
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 326
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Original Title Page
Original Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Women Pioneers and Early Social Work Organisations 1860–1914
1 Employment and Education for Women
Family Patterns and Entry to Professions
Teaching, Nursing and Philanthropy
Miss Parkes and the English Woman's Journal Employment Bureau
Philanthropy and Higher Education—Emily Davies
Josephine Butler, Octavia Hill, Mary Carpenter
2 Women as Innovators in Social Work
Male Creative Influence in New Welfare Developments
Female Initiatives
Contrasting Approaches—Octavia Hill, Josephine Butler, Mary Carpenter
3 Women in Social Work Organisations
Introduction
The Charity Organisation Society
The Poor Law: Visitors and Guardians
The Poor Law: Employment Under the Poor Law—Institutional Staff and Relieving Officers
Women Inspectors: The Poor Law
Women Inspectors: Prisons and Reformatories
Women Inspectors: Factories
Moral Welfare
Almoning
Probation
Settlements
4 Women and Social Work Education
The Need for Training—Charity Organisation Society Concern and Policy
Tension Between the Charity Organisation Society and University Courses
The School of Sociology and the Spread of Social Studies Teaching
Academic and Practical Work
Women's Changing Choice of Training Opportunities
5 Women Social Workers, Women's Suffrage, and Social Reform
Introduction
Attitudes to the Women's Suffrage Movement—Octavia Hill, Josephine Butler, Mary Carpenter
A New Generation of Women Linking Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Social Work—Violet Markham, Eleanor Rathbone, Cecile Matheson
Patterns of Involvement
6 Overview 1860–1914
Main Trends
Social Work as a Career for Women
Professional Identity and the Ideal of Service
Marx, Engels and Veblen—Theoretical Views
Part II: Emergent Profession 1914–39
7 The First World War
Impact on Social Work
Munitions Work
Training and Opportunities for Paid Social Work
Almoning
Probation
Moral Welfare and Housing Management
Mental Hygiene and American links
8 Women's Social Position and Career Prospects 1918–39
Limited Emancipation for Women
Employment Problems
Low Pay and Poor Prospects in Social Work
Class and Social Work
9 Women in Social Work Organisations 1918–39
General or Specialised Social Work
Almoning
Probation
Psychiatric Social Work
House Property Management
Moral Welfare
Settlements
Women Inspectors
10 Overview 1918–39
Training Patterns and Problems of Recruitment
Women and Professional Development
Five Women
Part III: Social Work 1939–71: An Expanding Mixed Profession
11 The Second World War
War and welfare
Almoning
Psychiatric Social Work
Probation
The Caxton Hall Conference, 1942
Voluntary Effort in Wartime—Women in Action
Venereal Disease
Child Welfare, Women and Social Work
12 The Demographic Background After 1945
Marriage, Family and Work
Trends in the Balance of Men and Women in Social Welfare
Social Welfare, Teaching and Nursing
13 Social Work Under the Microscope 1945–51
The Welfare State and the Significance of Child Care Service
The State of Social Work—Younghusband and Simey
Social Work and the Vanishing Poor Law
Universities and Social Work
Developments in Probation, Almoning and Psychiatric Social Work
14 Two Decades Of Training 1951–71
New Demands and Limited Resources
Women in Social Studies Departments
The Younghusband Report, 1959
Training in Child Care and Health and Welfare
Generic Training
Fieldwork Teaching
Central Government Reorganisation and the National Institute for Social Work Training
Training as a Special Field for Women
15 Women in Social Work Agencies and the Social Work Profession: The Male Threat
The Wider Pattern of Recruitment and Employment
Psychiatric Social Work
Medical Social Work
Child Care
Probation
Local Studies
Directors of Social Services
Social Work Inspectors
Voluntary Social Work
Professional Organisation
16 Problems of Women's Employment in Social Work
Defining the Issues
Married Women and Part-Time Work
Hesitant Responses to Women's Position
Women's Liberation and Social Work
17 Conclusion
Motivation for Social Work
Differentiation of Male and Female Social Work Roles
Leadership and Administrative Abilities of Women in Social Work
Future Trends
Maximising Women's Contribution
Reinterpreting the History of Social Work
Notes
Bibliography
Index
