(Super)diversity and the migration–social work nexus: a new lens on the field of access and inclusion?

Abstract

The notions of diversity and superdiversity are of promising relevance to social work with immigrant clients. They enable a nuanced appreciation of the complex and varied sources of inequality to which such clients are exposed. However, these categories are sometimes employed in overly principled or prescriptive tones, and their distinctive contribution is relatively under-debated. How can diversity and superdiversity be used to make sense of migrants' disadvantages as welfare clients, and what do they add to the pre-existing social work perspectives? This paper revisits three major issues from within the literature on social work with immigrants: (1) the shifting ways of framing these clients; (2) the relevance of diversity and superdiversity in the self-representations and organizational arrangements of service providers; (3) the methodological underpinnings, and ensuing dilemmas, of helping relationships with immigrant clients. Overall, social work emerges as an exemplary field to assess the conceptual transition from diversity towards superdiversity.

Keywords:

• diversity
• superdiversity
• social work
• migrants
• minorities
• ethnicity

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Ralph Grillo, Kristine Krause, Marco Martiniello, Fran Meissner and Erica Righard for their valuable feedback on earlier drafts of this article.

Notes

1. Witness to this, even in Italy – a country with a relatively short immigration record and a weakly institutionalized anti-discrimination culture – a reference to diversity stands out in the national Code of Ethics of Social Workers (2009, art. 35):

A social worker must always… be fully aware of the social reality of the area in which he is based, and take due note of its cultural and ethical context by recognising the value of the diverse and heterogeneous nature of those who live there as something to safeguard and defend, and by refuting any form of discrimination.

2. See, for instance, the overview of case and family work with Muslim clients in Crabtree et al. (2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paolo Boccagni

PAOLO BOCCAGNI is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, Italy.