Transcript The Marriage of Sociological Theory and Social Work Practice

Social Work Education and Gender Issues:
The Marriage of Sociological Theory and
Social Work Practice
Frances L. Hoffmann
Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Gender & Women’s Studies
Connecticut College, New London, CT, U.S.A.
Fulbright Scholar, VNU HCMC CETQA
2009-10
Sociology  Social Work

Sociology: empirical study of patterns in human
interactions; levels of analysis range from micro
(face-to-face) to the study of social institutions
and whole societies

Social Work: the application of the knowledge
of psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. to
ameliorate social problems at the individual
and/or community level.
Gender (a sociological concept):

Patterns of male-female relationships that
develop in particular cultures and over time
through beliefs, values, ideologies, norms and
everyday life interactions

Typically involve differences in roles and
behavioral expectations, carry value implications

Involve power dimensions
Sociologists & Social Workers Interested in
Gender Issues Seek to:



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Understand how gender is “constructed” by societies,
how different cultures shape the norms, values and
beliefs about men and women (“in nature” versus “by
society”)
Understand the origins/beginnings of these belief
systems and the processes by which they are sustained
or changed
Understand the diversity of gender experiences by class,
ethnicity, race, rural/urban, nationality, religion, etc.
Work to eliminate gender inequality
Levels of Analysis of Women’s Status for
Sociology and Social Work:

Cultural – images, beliefs, values transmitted
through cultural images, religion, media,
advertising, literature, movies, music, etc.

De Jure – in law – official policies and legal
framework

De Facto – in reality -- in the day to day lives of
women and men
Today’s Brief Remarks:
I
II
III
• Philosophical Foundations and Cultural Images
• Legal Context for Gender Equality
• Gender Patterns in Contemporary VN and U.S.
• Implications for Social Work Theory and Practice
I. Vietnam’s Philosophical Foundations: Mix
of Several Very Different Traditions
Confucian, Buddhism,
Taoism
 Values: hierarchy, harmony,
solidarity

Three Submissions of
Women:

“Modernizing” production
processes and education
Four Virtues for Women:
Communist Era
 Preserve tradition in
context of
nationalization
◦ Skillful in Work

o Daughter to Father
o Wife to Husband
o Widow to Son

Western Influences –
French Colonial
Period:
Goals:
◦ Modest in Behavior
◦ National Liberation
◦ Soft-spoken in Language
◦ Class Liberation
◦ Faultless in behavior
◦ Women’s Liberation
Images of Vietnamese Women: Confucian Era – emphasis
on duty to nation and family, self-sacrifice
More recent imagery: Vietnamese Women and Men in Solidarity to
Country
Vietnamese Women as Upholder of Tradition and Purity
Beauty Contestants:
How are contemporary young women
interpreting these cultural images?
How are the images affecting their sense of
self, relationship to their appearance and
bodies, and aspirations for the future?
How might social workers help young
women as they develop their identities in
the midst of this rapidly changing society?
II. De Jure (legal) Rights for Women:
Vietnam – constitutional
guarantee:
Article 2: Every citizen regardless
of sex, ethnicity, and social strata
is equal before the law.
Plus many discrete laws
and policies promoting
equality/prohibiting sex
discrimination.
U.S. – no constitutional
guarantee, Equal Rights
Amendment failed to be
adopted
BUT, many discrete laws
and policies promoting
equality/prohibiting sex
discrimination
III. De Facto Status – Women’s Actual
Experiences – in Families, Workplaces,
Healthcare, Politics, Education, Etc.

Issues of concern to Social Workers

Focus of U.N. Attention for Several Decades:
◦ World Conferences on Women 1975-1995 Mexico,
Copenhagen, Nairobi, Beijing
◦ CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women – 1975 (185
nations; US & VN signed in 1980)
CEDAW Issues Common to All but Their Patterns
Differ Across Nations
CEDAW Signatory Countries must report progress in fostering equality in:

Employment (conditions of work, remuneration, insurance, pensions,
promotion opportunities)

Political representation and participation (voting rates, access to
government positions)

Household labor, family dynamics (double burden of labor for women,
domestic violence, male-dominated decision-making within family)

Pregnancy, childrearing rights and support

Reproductive rights – access to safe, effective birth control, to
information about reproduction/sexuality, to control over reproduction

Education – (expanding opportunities for women k-12, universities;
gender division persists in choice of majors – concern re
underrepresentation women in engineering, math, sciences)
Selected Social Issues Affecting Women in VN:
Linking Sociological Analysis and Social Work
Practice

Sex education; abortion rates; access to safe,
effective birth control

Sex ratio imbalances– male child preference

Migration issues – rural dislocations

Women’s double burden
Sex education/Teen Pregnancy &
Abortion
Vietnam historically has among highest
rates of abortion in world
 Rates are declining as other
contraception methods available
 Unwed teens – rates rising
 Explanations:
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Lack sex education
Power dynamics in relationship
Lack access to other means contraception
Cultural norms prohibit seeking contraception
Research: link between traditional
gender beliefs and unwanted
pregnancies, HIV risk

Bui Cong Thanh, MD, PhD Public Health dissertation
research,VEF fellow

Focus groups of university women, junior year, about
perceptions of contemporary gender relations of
young adults

Exploring link between cultural beliefs and medical
outcomes (unwanted pregnancy and HIV risk)
Findings:
Acceptance of traditional gender norms
(meekness, modesty, sacrifice,
concession, sufferance)
Less power in relationship and less
ability to negotiate sexual relations with
male partner – i.e. practice safe sex, use
condom, resist unwanted sex, etc.
Higher risk of unwanted pregnancy, HIV
risk
Implications for Social Work

Sex education programs: focus on gender
dynamics as well as basic physiological
information

Gender equity promotion strategies in
schools, informed by deep understanding
of power implications of gender beliefs

Individual counseling to empower
communication and negotiating skills
Sex Ratio
Sex Ratio: # of males/100 females
 Imbalanced sex ratios (too many men or
too many women) > social problems (sex
trafficking, prostitution, social instability)
 Vietnam: sex ratio skewed in favor of
men
 Explanations:

◦ Cultural preference for sons
◦ Availability of ultrasound, selective abortion
Rural Migration
Urbanization and land redistribution
drawing rural women off farms into cities
 Street vending women in Hanoi – from
area villages, combining vending and
agricultural work – deeply gendered
patterns
 Experiences:

◦ Family instability
◦ Difficult working conditions
◦ Harassment
Double Burden

As women are drawn into industrializing
workforce, continue to have
disproportionate responsibility for
household and childrearing

Psychological and physical stress
Sex Ratio, Migration, Double Burden
All related to cultural beliefs regarding
women’s roles and statuses
 All result in difficulties faced by individual
women and social problems faced by the
society
 Understanding their cultural/structural
contexts important for social work
practice.

How might social work education
address these issues?

In the design of the curriculum?

In the placements of students for social
work practice?
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In constructing social work interventions
at the individual and community level?