Working with Women of Color: An Empowerment Perspective
- 1 March 1990
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Social Work
- Vol. 35 (2) , 149-153
- https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/35.2.149
Abstract
Women of color—black, Latina, Asian American, and Native American—constitute a large proportion of most social work caseloads. Yet the unique needs of women of color have rarely been presented in the social work literature. Research has established that their struggle with the double burden of racism and sexism exacts a toll on their mental health and restricts their opportunities. Social workers must deal with both the psychological effects of powerlessness and the concrete problems in their clients' lives. The concepts and techniques of empowerment, which focus on issues of power imbalance and on helping clients to gain the power to affect their social conditions, can form an effective basis for working with women of color. The author identified a specific set of principles of empowering practice for women of color.Keywords
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