The Impact of Feminism on Social Work Students in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study found that social work students in Hong Kong are insensitive to gender issues in both their practice and life experiences. It has been suggested that feminism should be integrated into social work curricula to enable students to question the way in which their life experiences lead them to construct gender, which is a crucial step in the development of nonsexist social work practice. However, in Hong Kong, there are two barriers to the development of nonsexist practice. First, social work education is insensitive to gender inequalities and tends simply to add women's issues to the traditional curriculum, and second, students tend to opt for more practical options when they choose electives for professional training and are thus less likely to take elective courses on gender.