Political participation of female social workers in South Africa

Abstract

By virtue of their profession, social workers world over are nomadic; often deployed round the society to prevent as well as manage psycho-social problems. The deployments and redeployments can be both intra and international, depending on the organization they work for, and can take them away even during periods when they are expected to observe certain social and political responsibilities. This paper explores the situation of South Africa's female social workers in line with their political participation as they consider the principles of human rights and social justice to be fundamental to social work. Hypotheses are raised to address some questions: To what extent are South Africa's female social workers excluded from political participation? At what level of political participation are they most likely excluded? What are the implications of this exclusion on the political behaviour of the female social workers, as well as on the dimension of political development of South Africa, especially in this era of gender equality? Data gathered are quantitatively processed and subjected to theoretical analysis before being utilised for conclusions and recommendations.

Keywords: Social Workers, South Africa, Political Participation, Political Development