Promoting diversity and inclusion in social work doctoral programs through mentoring: perceptions and advice from BIPOC students

ABSTRACT

Social work doctoral programs help shape the future leaders of the profession, but the climate of doctoral programs may not be equally welcoming to all students. This study explores the perspectives of students who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) regarding their programs’ diversity and inclusion and mentoring practices. The online survey of 183 social work doctoral students uses a mixed methods approach to compare perspectives of BIPOC students and White non-Hispanic students. The study found disparities in feeling safe and welcome and scholarly productivity, and highlights the importance of holistic mentoring, improved mentor training, and genuine allyship.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work education
• doctoral mentoring
• Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students
• anti-racism
• program climate
• diversity and inclusion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding for this study. This study received ethics approval from the Institutional Review Board of The Ohio State University, approved study #: 2019E0928.