Leslie E. Tower

The Social Costs of Career Success for Women

Women in the workforce, especially those in professional and management positions, are doubly burdened by social traditions that expect workers to meet masculine standards at the office while maintaining their feminine role of nurturer at home. This article studies the social costs of female career progression using a survey of 1,600 respondents from different levels of the public sector. The results show that working women have an increased incidence of being single or divorced, married working women tend to have more housework responsibilities, and working women have fewer children or are childless. The article concludes that government and business organizations need to pay serious attention to this hidden problem of social costs that affect women and men disproportionately.

Domestic Violence Screening: Education and Institutional Support Correlates

Because domestic violence is a serious threat to women’s lives and well-being, social workers are encouraged to screen, assess, and implement intervention. National Association of Social Workers members from Florida were surveyed in order to understand their screening barriers and behaviors. Participants with more Continuing Education Units, agency inservice hours, and additional training perceived fewer barriers to screening, screened more, and identified more domestic violence victims. Multiple regression analysis showed that perceived self-efficacy, paperwork screening reminders, and inservice training hours explained 38.5% (35.8% adjusted) of the variability in screening behaviors. Screening is an important component in the process of helping battered women.

Barriers in Screening Women for Domestic Violence: A Survey of Social Workers, Family Practitioners, and Obstetrician–Gynecologists

Domestic violence (DV) is a pervasive and serious threat to womens lives and well-being. Medical social workers, family practitioners, and obstetrician–gynecologists are in key positions to screen and offer help. Florida NASW members and board certified family practitioners and obstetrician–gynecologists were mailed a psychometrically tested scale. A total of 388 surveys were analyzed. Education (especially the number of in-service hours) and the presence of institutional supports, decreased barriers to screening, increased screening behaviors, and lead to increased victim identification. Only 20.8% of participants always or nearly always routinely screened for DV; 24.0% reported that routine screening did not apply to their role. Self-Efficacy was the strongest predictor of screening behavior with Fear of Offending, Safety Concerns, CEUs/CMEs, and in-service hours contributing approximately equally to the prediction of screening behavior.

An Internet-Based Assignment to Teach Students to Engage in Policy Practice: A Three-Cohort Study

This article describes an Internet-based, policy-practice assignment required in the second course of a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) policy sequence. Students were required to join e-action alert lists, respond to multiple alerts, and document their experience. More than 98% of students reported that they would remain on e-action alert lists. In addition, students reported learning that this form of advocacy was quick, easy, and effective. Involving students in policy practice during their social work education may instill the importance of policy practice, give them the confidence to participate in policy practice, and experience the ease with which one can participate.

Group Work with a New Population: Women in Domestic Relationships Responding to Violence with Violence

Abstract An unanticipated consequence of pro-arrest policies for domestic violence is the arrest of women. With the resultant creation of court-ordered groups to accommodate this new population, a thorough understanding of the motivations, contexts, and consequences of womens use of violence is needed. Widely used current treatment models are reviewed, and a model is proposed. This model incorporates aspects of group process (group leadership, group development, mutual aid, self-determination, and member roles) and group content (safety issues, dynamics of abuse, anger management, childrens issues, coping strategies, empowerment and community resources, exploring prior victimizations, relationship issues, and self-nurturing).

Work/Life Fit The Intersection of Developmental Life Cycle and Academic Life Cycle

A successful academic trajectory tends to be characterized by a singular Standard, that is, doctoral degree, tenure-track position, tenure, and promotion to full professor, administration, or both. Significant numbers of social work faculty struggle with the intersection of the traditional career life cycle and the developmental life cycle. This article discusses barriers that emerge from the intersection of these life cycles. Strategies to support career success and family satisfaction are also discussed, including, current law, work/life policies, self-care, and mentoring.

‘Hearing the Real Stories about the Issues at Hand’: Politically Active Elders Engage Bachelor in Social Work (BSW) Students in Influencing Social Policy

This article focuses on the successes and challenges experienced by a social work program offering experiential learning opportunities to bachelor in social work (BSW) students. As part of the BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program, policy students collaborated with politically active older adults to develop compelling letters to the editor of a newspaper and influential letters to state-level legislators concerning policies impacting older adults. Using a two-year quasi-experimental design, one section of the course paired students with older adults while the other section served as the control group. Although no significant differences were found in influencing student interest in working with older adults, students paired with older adults showed greater confidence in and learning of the content. Lessons learned from this experience and implications for future implementation will be detailed.

Reframing Workplace Spirituality to Reduce Career and Social Costs to Women

Women tend to sacrifice career, family life, or both in ways men do not. Studies have shown repeatedly that these career and social costs are higher for women than men. This article argues that career and social costs only exist because workplace policies and practices are based on values that are grounded in beliefs derived from scientific, religious, and spiritual sources. The authors employ three ontological ideal-types to examine workplace policies that affect men and women differently. The analysis considers how different ontological assumptions might lead to more socially equitable policies and outcomes. Characteristics associated with one type in particular may lead to more desirable workplace policies than the others. Therefore, when scholars generically promote “workplace spirituality” in an effort to generate more desirable individual and workplace outcomes, it is important to be specific about which particular beliefs are being promoted and which are being left out.

Organizational Change and Gender Equity in Academia: Using Dialogical Change to Promote Positive Departmental Climates

Abstract Purpose To implement and assess an intervention designed to promote gender equity and organizational change within STEM departments in two Colleges at a single Research High university. Department climate impacts the retention and success of women faculty. Methodology/approach A survey was administered both before and after the department intervention in order to capture departmental change on variables that measure a positive climate for female faculty. Findings Across all of the science and engineering departments, levels of Collective Efficacy toward Gender Equity significantly increased while levels of Conflict significantly decreased after the department facilitation. In the science departments, the level of Vicarious Experience of Gender Equity among faculty significantly increased while in the engineering departments levels of faculty Dependence significantly decreased. There was a statistically significant decrease in Optimism about Gender Equity among the science faculty. Practical implications Organizational change within universities has been documented as slow and labor intensive. Departmental climate, particularly interactions with colleagues, remains an area wherein women continue to feel excluded. The departmental intervention resulted in measurable improvements in key aspects of climate critical to women’s success (e.g., reductions in conflict and dependence; increases in collective efficacy) as well as more realistic view of the effort needed to attain gender equity (decrease in Optimism).

The Development and Evaluation of Online Learning Modules to Deliver Lifespan Content in Human Behavior in Social Environment Courses

This article details the development and evaluation of a lifespan development computer modules that were used in human behavior in social environment courses. An anonymous, Web-based survey was developed to evaluate the modules. Supporting the first hypothesis, the majority of students (83.5%) found the modules to be a good learning alternative. The hypotheses that MSW students will experience more barriers to Web-based instruction and that students who previously mastered more content will spend less time on mobdules than students who previously mastered less content were not supported. Lessons learned provide implications for the use of computer-assisted instruction.