Paid work, education and competence. Social workers’ interviews with male and female clients applying for income support

Abstract

This article contributes to the understanding of how talk in social work constructs the positions of men and women in the gender system. The method consists of discourse analysis of Swedish social workers’ interviews with male and female clients. Results show that women are given relatively little support in finding a job. Much more attention is devoted to the men as a group and their opportunities to become established in the labour market.

Artikeln behandlar hur samtal i socialt arbete bidrar till att konstruera mäns och kvinnors positioner i genussystemet. Samtalsanalys har använts för att studera svenska socialarbetares samtal med manliga och kvinnliga klienter. Resultaten visar att kvinnorna ges relativt lite stöd för att få arbete. Mycket mer uppmärksamhet ägnas männen och deras möjlighet att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden.

Keywords:

• Social Work
• Gender
• Social Welfare

Keywords:

• Socialt Arbete
• Genus
• Socialtjänst

The reported research was financed by The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.

Notes

1. Conditions within social welfare in Sweden vary considerably in comparison to those in the US, in which Hasenfeld identifies the two mentioned mechanisms. However, research has, at the same time, indicated that there also are significant similarities in, for instance, how questions concerning the clients’ rights and obligations to work are handled within social welfare in the two contexts (see for example, Handler, 2003, 2005). Consequently the two mechanisms control and change have been considered relevant tools for the analysis.