Twenty-first International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

Globalization has brought opportunities for profit, knowledge, diversity – and a profound complexity of our social issues. These are surfacing in our institutions, such as schools, healthcare, governments, and corporations. A stakeholder present in all of these environments is social workers. As the reach of globalization continues to expand, social workers and their ability to serve diverse constituents and their needs will become increasingly integral to public health and safety. However, when examining the social work workplace, two alarming characteristics become apparent. Firstly, a stark majority of 67.9% of social workers are white. The numbers speak to the social workplace being potentially marginalizing for people of color. Secondly, many social workers do not have an educational background in social work, and social work leadership are oftentimes professional managers rather than experts in the field. Therefore, social workers do not all have the same exposure to anti-racism curriculum. Considering the demographics of their clientele, it is crucial for social work leadership to exercise integrative, transformational leadership in their workplace in order to increase diverse representation amongst social workers, and thus improve their ability to serve their constituents. Informed by Young Yun Kim’s Cross-cultural adaptation model and Critical Race Theory in Critical Leadership, I have created a customizable curriculum guideline for social work leadership aimed at improving the experiences of social workers of color. The guideline is designed to critically examine their institution and leadership styles, and to take immediate action with both long and short-term sustainable implementations.