“We have to Work Harder”: Testing Assumptions about the Challenges for Black and Minority Ethnic Social Workers in a Multicultural Society

Abstract

This paper reports from a small-scale qualitative research study designed to keep the dialogue open about anti-racist social work and to test assumptions about the role of black and minority ethnic (BME) social workers within it. Multiculturalism is a contested term, which describes a process of increasing diversity and incorporation of that diversity into public discourse and policy. This process is often used to provide political polemics about the plausibility of multiculturalism and ‘race’ relations. Social work as an institution is not immune to these issues and can be a site for inequalities based on ‘race’, thus, challenging the success of social work in a multicultural society and creating particular challenges for BME workers. However, this research with its focus on the experiences of BME social workers also uncovered how opportunities for BME social workers to discuss working with and overcoming such challenges could contribute to the service.

Keywords:

• anti-racist practice
• multiculturalism
• cultural competence

Notes

¹ Throughout the paper, the acronym BME refers to UK residents born in or outside the UK, who are not ethnically and culturally of white British background.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jean-Pierre Mbarushimana

Jean Pierre Mbarushimana came to the UK from Rwanda in 2001. In the UK, he has worked in schools as an outreach worker, completing a degree in Childhood Studies and an MA in Social Work through the Step Up to Social Work Programme. He has worked as a family support worker and a social worker before taking up his current post. Correspondence to: Jean-Pierre Mbarushimana, Learning Mentor, John Gulson Primary School, Coventry. Email: [email protected]

Rachel Robbins

Rachel Robbins has been involved in social work education since 2003. Her teaching and research interests are in social policy, learning disabilities and domestic violence. Prior to her academic career, she has worked within a learning disability service, the Commission for Racial Equality, and policy and planning for a local authority social services department.