NASW Social Work Talks - EP 29: The Stories Behind the Salaries

Episode Date: April 9, 2019

Allison Peeler, LMSW, believes social workers need to drop the outdated story of "underworked and unpaid" and to redefine the way they view themselves and their earning capabilities. See show notes page for resources.

This is Social Work Talks from the National Association of Social Workers. We're continuing the conversation that we started during Social Work Month on the topic of social work salaries. We hope these conversations will spark more action. Our guest is Allison Peeler, LMSW. She's a senior communications specialist at the University of North Texas. She says that the wage gap between social work and other helping professions has been caused in part by external forces that have perpetuated negative messages about social work

when it comes to the stories we tell about the value of the profession she challenges social workers to use positive and proactive self-talk please see the show notes for ways to add your thoughts to this conversation and as always if you like what you hear please leave us a review on itunes now here's alia wright with allison peeler Allison welcome hi thanks for having me tell us about your social work practice what are you working on now that you're most excited about well I'm actually I'm currently working in communications so grad school was a place where it really opened my eyes to ways that I could expand my skill set and find ways to

to help the helpers. I had worked in direct practice for a number of years prior to grad school, and I really felt called to think bigger than the individual level and be able to provide support to those that were on the front line. Social workers do really amazing things for their clients every day, and I began to see how important it was to really be able to shape and tell the story for an agency or an organization, to be able to demonstrate successes, and also the necessity of having highly trained staff with the skills to produce positive outcomes that benefit everyone. And it made me wonder how I could do this for social work. So I looked for opportunities. While I was in grad school, I had a bunch of opportunities to work for non-profit communications.

And on the other side of that, it led me back into the university realm, and I've had the opportunity to work with a great creative team and really hone in on best practices for communication strategy that I think ultimately could be of service to the profession of social work itself. What I really hope to do is bring these skills back to the social work community and help investigate, reframe, and retell our professional story, one that includes better pay. Now, in your work, you found that low pay in the social work field has come to be expected and accepted both by social workers and employers. Why do you think that is? To me, there are a number of ways that social work has experienced the effects of externally dictated forms of powerlessness and disempowerment since its beginnings. Some of the headliners that are known to all of us are inherent power and gender issues related to being a female-dominated profession, the inverse relationship between the number of women in a profession and its average salary, the tendency that women have to financially value themselves or negotiate less than their male counterparts, And the perception in the workplace of women that do feel empowered to negotiate are perceived as, quote unquote, less nice, which is a pretty unfortunate setback. You know, it sort of starts us with one foot behind.

There's also been, you know, questions of social work's professionalization throughout its lifespan, though I think that that's another storyline that we have the opportunity to draw because we've been a strong and empowered profession for over 100 years. So another big factor in the way that we see social worker pay dictated by external issues is how the public sees us. So when we experience professional devaluation and role ambiguity, these things can be seen by employers that sort of wholesale hire anyone essentially for some lower level social work positions. It creates interprofessional power struggles and role overlap between social workers and other helping professionals. There's also an inherent association of social workers with the marginalized populations that we serve. So the public sees us maybe as in the same light as they see populations that they may not be concerned about because it doesn't directly affect them or because they're these disempowered marginalized populations. These two factors, this historic disempowerment and external professional role devaluation, I think has

led to unintentional internalization of this negative and unclear image for social workers themselves. So we see that in devaluation and devaluing comments, like when we talk about money and what our earning power is. I kept hearing people tell me in school, at work, that they weren't in the field of social work for the money. It made me angry. I was so confused by the sort of negative reinforcement over and over again of disparaging message and negative self-talk that I saw from peer to peer. It's sort of overlap between practice areas, like we see clinical social work in a different light than, you know, children and family services. And so there's this intra-professional devaluation of each other. We keep saying these things to ourselves. I heard

people talk about how they heard messages from their professors that told them to go into one direction of social work versus another so that they could earn more. Others that were very frank in trying to prepare their students for the really bleak financial future in front of them. And so things like this and then sort of a constant competition, better than, less than, and comparing themselves to other helping professionals and sort of counting out the differences. What makes us special and what makes them special and are we better than LPCs or psychologist or are we less than are we you know where do we measure up always in sort of on the defensive disempowered position and always something to you know to sort of come back to

and and a place to defend which to me you know if you look at power theory that's the position that somebody takes and if they are disempowered is um one of a constant state of defense of the It seemed to me that the constant storyline in the social work profession was that we're overworked and underpaid, oh well, we just repeat it to each other and move on, and it's essentially just a reinforcement of a really sort of crappy storyline so we can rationalize our own, essentially, financial exploitation. We love the work. Social workers love what they do. So while I was in graduate school, I completed research on the professional perceptions that Master of Social Work students had on the profession of social work and how those perceptions impact financial worth. I conducted a series of focus groups to take a deeper look at what we think of the profession, what we think other people think of the profession, and what we think we're worth financially. It was necessary, you know, in going through the research, which isn't all negative, by the way. They think that the work that we do is really good.

There just are these sort of amorphous, unclear things around it that complicate the situation. And then we, I think, have internalized that and then share it, pass it on to each other. So when I was trying to find a term that would sort of encompass what earning power was to a social worker, well, it was definitely important to get a term that captured more than dollar value. Social workers place their worth on more than that. while I challenge the it's not about the money message, it's also not only about money. I think our code of ethics and core values, as well as the fact that we keep doing the work, make that really clear. So what I found was that a critical ingredient of social work worth is perceived societal contribution or what we're doing for the greater good. So the term financial worth is a

person's perceived maximum earning capacity plus the rate of usefulness to society they believe they possess. Essentially, what do I think I'm worth? What does society think I'm worth? And how do I start asking myself how to monetize that? What does that mean to me to look at what I bring to the world? What are the attitudes towards pay that social workers should drop? I argue that each time we repeat this sort of it's not about the money or I'm overworked and underpaid, oh, well, dialogue, we keep the story alive and well. I even found this U.S. News and World Report article, one of several, listing social work as one of the lowest earning professions and that it was, quote, unquote, famous for its overworked, underpaid motto. and giving to others at the expense of the self, and everyone knows that. How many times have you heard it? That is currently our professional story, and I heard these messages a lot in the

research. The focus groups really demonstrated that when we explore sort of our part of the The perpetuation of these negative, lame, out-of-date stories, it was really heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. They told me that they found existing social work salaries to be really unacceptable, that they were worth more than they were being told to expect by each other, by employers, by professors. They told stories of social workers, some of them even in the room, working two jobs just to pay their bills, some that could basically qualify for the programs they worked for. I had no idea how emotional writing a thesis about worth was going to be for me. so the social worth it concept sort of developed as I was preparing to present this research at the NASW conference in DC in 2016 I was you know sort of looking for sort of an all-encompassing way to demonstrate sort of how we can rebrand an idea and a concept in order to start thinking

about it differently. Our worth is inherent, and we, you know, are in a position to change perceptions. Perception is king, but it's also really fluid. So that means that we get a choice in how we define it. What story do you think we should be telling about the social work profession? I will say that I think it's a collective effort. Whatever we decide, we should decide it together. Absolutely. We need to lead with a really clear and concrete message of social work's unique place in the world, which I think is not only that we are some of the most empathetic, caring people in the world, but we have a unique drive to go above and beyond the call of duty. that's that's across the board I've never met a social worker that didn't have that on board and that we also speak out and speak up for social judge justice and advocating for our clients in our communities in a meaningful way I

think what we need to do as a group is to determine how we want to brand ourselves as individuals who can cross all sorts of barriers in different practice areas, but still ultimately serve the same goals. I think that there's an opportunity there for us to craft that message together and that it will be most meaningful if it comes from the group, if it comes from the whole. The participants in the groups that I studied made it really clear that if things were going to change, it was going to have to be an inside job. So some job descriptions call for social workers with master's degrees, but they pay just slightly more than minimum wage. Why do employers think this is okay? I can say why it's normalized. So gender is obviously a huge issue. Social work being what, like 80% female. There's no denying that that has an impact on the worth of a profession from an external perspective and how it's viewed.

we're still I think as women making great strides towards leveling the playing field and this isn't to discount any of the men that do amazing work in social work because there there were a lot of there was a good mix of men in the study groups and they provided some really unique you know opinions that they brought to the table that we wouldn't have maybe had if they weren't there And so, I think that's really important to note. However, when a field is mostly women, we see some things, some commonalities. The field, like I said earlier, the more women tend to be in a profession, the lower their average rate of pay tends to be. We do still see things like the glass ceiling and the glass escalator in social work where there is a real truth to men getting skyrocketed up the administrative ladder quicker than their female counterpart to, you know, for whatever the reason. And somebody made a joke that in one of the study groups that social workers are the moms of the professional world. And I thought that was really poignant because, you know, we we think of, you know, a mother is this sort of savior role that's also very ambiguous, undervalued and difficult to quantify.

And so, you know, costs and worth and outcomes. I think that falls back into some of the role ambiguity that people may see of social workers and that social workers then sort of embody. So we take that on. There's also something called an elastic supply of labor. And this comes back to when employers will hire just about anybody, you know, and I say that loosely, obviously not anyone, anyone. But they open the floodgates to open jobs up to a wide range of backgrounds of skill level, expertise, and education. Since they're willing to hire anyone, there's this sort of rubber band effect of we'll hire, we'll widen the pool if there's not a social worker around. We'll just hire someone else. What's your advice to those who are interested in practice areas that traditionally pay the least?

This really comes back to professional change being a collective effort. So changing the numbers starts with changing the messages that we have around them that we believe about ourselves. Pay disparity across practice areas is part of that internal conflict and competition that I mentioned earlier. MSW versus BSW, et cetera. I think that we really have to have a united front across our areas. Our advocacy has to be even and equitable, so our representation, professional organizations, and lobbying efforts aren't simply from one practice area or another. I think do the work that's meaningful to you, but think critically about what financial worth means to you and how you can change the stories you or your peers or your colleagues have about earning real money as a social worker. What are the top things social workers should do to advocate for better pay?

Before we can change the numbers, we have to make sure that we've identified and chosen our beliefs about our worth, rather than just accepting the ones that were already there. Those messages are out of date. Just because people have said the words, it's not about the money, social workers are a low-earning profession, doesn't mean that it has to remain true. It doesn't mean that we have to latch on to those beliefs. Now, we can't change everything, but we can focus on the parts that we can control, which is the way we teach other people how to treat us. Before we can make that change, we really have to believe it down deep, no question, for it to resonate to others. So here are some things within your power that I would say that you could do starting now.

First of all, pledge right now to no longer use that language like it's not about the money. I don't work for the money. Social workers don't or won't make much money. Second, discourage others from making jokes like that, including these messages or variations of them. Encourage positive and proactive professional self-talk and begin to ask yourself, what is your financial worth? What does that look like to you? How can you affirm it in a positive way to yourself, your peers, and your professional community starting now? How can social workers advocate for equitable salaries for all qualified social workers? I think this is the best part, actually. What I think is the sum total of all of these parts is

that we have power here. If we're playing some part in devaluing ourselves with our message and self-talk, but we also have the power to change that. That's how we advocate from within. As we begin to unravel these old stories and pass on new healthier ones to each other, our value will change. That's how it works. Value and worth are perceived. If we believe it, so will others. This is the value, in my opinion, of communications in the social work world. We must unapologetically define our role in the world. We need to teach new social workers how to advocate for the profession and for themselves as much as for their clients and their practice areas. I'd also like to add that I think we run into a little bit of trouble in our

own professional code of ethics when we set the expectation that social workers will work for free. Again, if I tell you that I'm not working for the money, then why would you pay me more? There might be a better way to include that volunteerism is important without setting the stage for free labor. That might be a consideration for NASW and for social workers everywhere, a collective effort, I'd say. On that same note, though, I always tell people, make sure you join and support NASW. They're our best advocates at the national and state level. If you're listening and you are not a member, it's, in my opinion, so important to be a part of. The more we support them, the more they can support us.

And if you're thinking to yourself, I don't think I do these things. I don't think I devalue my profession. I don't think I devalue my peers or myself. Know that some of the things I've talked about are deeply ingrained and unconscious. Just take a look and see what comes up. If you're not participating in these messages, then great. Share that. Share how you've accomplished that with others and encourage them to get on board.

Can you tell our listeners a little bit about Social Worth It? Social Worth It was essentially my way to demonstrate to social workers the importance of messaging. You know, looking at professional branding campaigns for, let's say, nursing. So they've done, they've made great strides to really change public perception about them through their rebranding process from aides and dresses and paper hats to the respective leaders among the medical helping professionals, keeping that message in mind that we're social worth it, knowing that our work matters and we deserve pay that matches. Please tell our listeners where they can find out more information about Social Worth It. You can check out my website, socialworthit.com, for more on the project. I see this project as a conversation starter and that the real work begins when others join in and get willing to be brave and step outside of the box and those old messages

that we've been sort of carrying around on our backs. It's really time that we drop them and we let them go. I also wanted to say one other thing. While I was doing the research, I found a whole lot of really disappointing social media accounts that seemed to promote nothing more than negative social work specific messages. And they get likes and followers and support. I'm not going to put anybody on blast or anything, but if it's you, I would also encourage you to use this as a chance to drop that rock. We get to write the story of our profession. And I think it's something that we get to do together.

Allison, thank you so much for joining us Thank you for having me This was a really amazing opportunity You have been listening to NASW Social Work Talks a production of the National Association of Social Workers We encourage you to visit NASW's website for more information

about our efforts to enhance the professional growth and development of our members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies You can learn more at www.socialworkers.org. And don't forget to subscribe to NASW Social Work Talks wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks again for joining us. We look forward to seeing you next episode.