25 min

“Raise The Wage” – The Case for Equitable Pay for Social Workers The "Kelsunn-on-the-Air" Social Work Podcast

    • Mental Health

Problem Statement: Social Worker salaries need to be increased so that they are commensurate with their skill, education and credentials. Above anything else Social Work salaries need to be commensurate with the impact that Social Workers have on the lives of others? We also need to get society to move past the fact that Social Work is a “female-dominated” profession. In addition to that the vulnerable populations served are looked down upon and seen as morally flawed and therefore not deserving of the best of services. Those two facts alone negatively impact salary considerations for Social Workers.

Motivation:  My motivation to pursue this policy is embedded in my deep and profound passion for the profession. It is vitally important that policy-makers recognize and acknowledge the profound impact Social Workers make in every aspect of society. Having experienced first-hand the powerful impact Social Workers can have on a person‘s life is why I need to make sure that Social Work salaries are raised to an equitable level. l desire for others to experience that same “Power of the Profession” and be inspired to “pay it forward”. Therefore, we need to attract, recruit, train and retain highly talented and passionate individuals to become social workers.

Motivation: One of the first areas I believe should be addressed is to make sure that there is universal nation-wide “Title Protection” in the public sector. What this will do is prevent government-funded human service organizations from hiring non-educated and non-credentialed employees and identifying them as “Social Workers”. This allows agencies to pay them less and brings down the value of professional Social Workers. I believe that there should be "Social Work Student Loan Forgiveness". Research shows that high student debt and less than equitable salaries discourage many from pursuing a Social Work career. Lastly, it is vitally important for all Social Workers, regardless of what their job is, to always identify themselves as Social Workers. This is especially true of the many CEO’s and ED’s who have Social Work Degrees and are earning 6-figure salaries. This will go a long way of dispelling the myth that “you can’t earn high salaries” with a Social Work degree.

Problem Statement: Social Worker salaries need to be increased so that they are commensurate with their skill, education and credentials. Above anything else Social Work salaries need to be commensurate with the impact that Social Workers have on the lives of others? We also need to get society to move past the fact that Social Work is a “female-dominated” profession. In addition to that the vulnerable populations served are looked down upon and seen as morally flawed and therefore not deserving of the best of services. Those two facts alone negatively impact salary considerations for Social Workers.

Motivation:  My motivation to pursue this policy is embedded in my deep and profound passion for the profession. It is vitally important that policy-makers recognize and acknowledge the profound impact Social Workers make in every aspect of society. Having experienced first-hand the powerful impact Social Workers can have on a person‘s life is why I need to make sure that Social Work salaries are raised to an equitable level. l desire for others to experience that same “Power of the Profession” and be inspired to “pay it forward”. Therefore, we need to attract, recruit, train and retain highly talented and passionate individuals to become social workers.

Motivation: One of the first areas I believe should be addressed is to make sure that there is universal nation-wide “Title Protection” in the public sector. What this will do is prevent government-funded human service organizations from hiring non-educated and non-credentialed employees and identifying them as “Social Workers”. This allows agencies to pay them less and brings down the value of professional Social Workers. I believe that there should be "Social Work Student Loan Forgiveness". Research shows that high student debt and less than equitable salaries discourage many from pursuing a Social Work career. Lastly, it is vitally important for all Social Workers, regardless of what their job is, to always identify themselves as Social Workers. This is especially true of the many CEO’s and ED’s who have Social Work Degrees and are earning 6-figure salaries. This will go a long way of dispelling the myth that “you can’t earn high salaries” with a Social Work degree.

25 min