Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice Core competency 4 Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice

Practice behavior 4.1 Recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance privilege and power. When working with diverse populations, it is important to understand that they may experience oppression, marginalization, and/or alienation. Because of this, it may difficult for minorities to find employment, housing, or be denied access to other basic human rights due to discrimination. This means that we social workers must not become color-blind to the issues that people of other cultures/ethnicities may face. This also includes the LGBT population, individuals with learning/developmental disabilities, physically disabled individuals, the older population, persons who are hearing or speech impaired, blind or deaf, and people who are mentally or behaviorally challenged.

Practice behavior 4.2 gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups. This week, I attended a day-long sensitivity training. This training consisted of working with various minority groups, such as the deaf and blind and vision and hearing impaired, people with physical disabilities, older populations, GLBT populations, mentally and behaviorally challenged individuals, and people with learning/developmental disabilities. We were shown important techniques to use in order to be culturally sensitive to these populations. In addition, many people face what is called a “double stigma,” which is what often occurs when people are minorities of more than one population, such as an LGBT couple who are also in the older population. Further, we gained a better understanding of personal biases when working with diverse groups through speaker presentations, activities, and exercises.

Practice behavior 4.3 recognize and communicate their understanding of the importance of difference in shaping life experiences I personally find it very important that I thoroughly educate myself on the various cultures/ethnicities of populations that I will be working with so that I can better serve those populations. I will gain an understanding of what discrimination, oppression, alienation, and marginalization the consumers I am working with have gone through that brought them to where they are today. Doing so will better enable me to “start where the client is” and to get them the appropriate services he/she deserves.

Practice behavior 4.4 view themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as informants I work with a very diverse group of consumers. Because of this, I am careful not to “assume” that they do things a certain way just because that is the way I do things. I also do not assume anything about them or their culture. I let them teach me about their culture and values through listening and observing. Besides, everyone is different, but we are all human. I believe that once a worker begins to assume things about any client, the worker risks obtaining the wrong services for that client. In addition, the worker may lose the client’s interest and he/she may decide to completely give up on the social worker, or possibly any help at all. In other words, I let the consumer talk, and I get to know them and how they got to where they are now. This is their time, not mine.