Studies On Gender Differences In The Career Development Of Social Workers

Since 2006,China has been striving to build a social work talent team with reasonable structure and excellent quality.However,for many years,the problem of high turnover rate has been a difficult problem in the process of building social work talent team.From the perspective of the gender structure of the talent team,most social workers at home and abroad are women,so the social work profession is often regarded as a feminized profession.This study focuses on whether women will encounter a glass ceiling for career development in the social work industry against the background of high turnover and feminization?Based on this,this study focuses on gender differences in the career development process of social work,and attempts to use statistical data and in-depth case interviews to reveal how and why the career development processes of social workers of different genders differ.Firstly,this study uses a gender hierarchical perspective to describe the current gender structure characteristics of social workers in China,using award levels as the achievement criteria for career development of social workers,and based on literature collection,conducts a gender analysis of social workers who have won national,provincial,and municipal awards.Statistical analysis found that,first of all,in terms of the number of winners at all levels,the majority are women.However,as the level rises,the proportion of men gradually increases,and the proportion gap between the sexes continues to narrow.Secondly,from the perspective of service field,the service field of female social workers is relatively narrow,while the service field of male social workers is more extensive.Finally,from the perspective of reproductive attitudes,male social workers are less affected by fertility in their career development,while female social workers are more affected by fertility in their career development.Further analysis shows that there are also significant differences in career development between the sexes.Firstly,from the perspective of wage level and wage satisfaction,male social workers generally have higher wage levels than female social workers,and the overall wage satisfaction of male social workers is higher than that of female social workers.Secondly,from the perspective of position level,the proportion of male social workers in the management level is higher than that of female social workers,while most social workers at the high-level level,namely,the municipal level,provincial level,and national level,are in management positions.Therefore,the higher the award level,the closer the gender ratio.Overall,statistical analysis shows that although the social work industry is dominated by women,female social workers are more difficult to achieve upward career development than male social workers,and there is still a glass ceiling phenomenon in the social work industry where women develop upward.Secondly,this study attempts to answer why women in feminized occupations still suffer from the glass ceiling of career development? What kind of women can break through this ceiling? The research uses the method of in-depth interviews to compare the career development paths of both sexes through interviews with senior social workers who have long held positions in social work from four aspects: motivation for entry,career promotion period,career persistence period,and future planning.The interview results show that male social workers are more affected by gender expectations when making career choices.Due to their low salary and low social awareness,many male social workers choose to leave the social work industry;In the process of career development,due to the large number of female social workers,they will face a more competitive job environment than male social workers,thereby obtaining fewer opportunities for promotion.On the other hand,due to the existence of a large number of local female social workers,their lack of professionalism has also hindered the job development of female social workers to a certain extent,leading to the aggregation of female social workers at the bottom;In terms of career persistence motivation,male social workers are more likely to achieve promotion in their positions than female social workers.Therefore,the acquisition of positive emotions such as their sense of professional identity,job achievement,and self-efficacy is more conducive to the persistence of male social workers in the social work industry.Female social workers pay more attention to upward career development,and the affirmation gained from job promotion can more enable female social workers to persist in the industry.Finally,in view of the gender differences in the career development of social workers,this study proposes countermeasures and suggestions from three levels: individual,institutional,and national.It points out that the individual level should establish professional beliefs and improve career planning;Persist in learning and improve professional ability;Adjust yourself and face up to work pressure.At the institutional level,it is necessary to optimize the working environment and improve the promotion and training system;Improve salary and welfare benefits,and improve supervision and management level.The government should provide institutional support and improve the construction of the social worker occupational security system;Improve the visibility of social work and improve the social status of social workers;Utilize the advantages of the social work education and training system,and establish a talent incentive mechanism.