Essential but Undervalued: Systemic Barriers Facing Black Women in Social Work

Essential but Undervalued: Systemic Barriers Facing Black Women in Social Work

Black women have faced systemic racial and gender discrimination in the labor force, and although historically they have had high labor force participation rates, they tend to be overrepresented in care and service jobs. As such, an intersectional lens is key to understanding Black women’s experience in the social work profession, as they contend with racism, sexism, and microaggressions, face barriers to licensure, and often experience burnout b