Who Cares? Women at Work in Social Services

Abstract

From Octavia Hill to Dame Eileen Younghusband, from ‘the almoner’ and the ‘child care officer’ to the ‘social worker’ and the ‘home help’ — the great names and the key roles in the world of personal social services are associated with women. Yet in these social services a growing number of men have come to work within such services including within voluntary and community organisations. This trend is particularly evident in managerial positions throughout the social services. It could be said that since the introduction of equal opportunities women constitute a small and perhaps declining percentage in the management of such services. The basic grade jobs, and particularly those with virtually no career prospects such as home helps, remain the almost exclusive province of women.