Posted: April 24th, 2025

Discussion Question

 Post a description of your agency context (location, population served, demographics). Then, evaluate your own commitment to clients and DEI within that context, using the Price (2020) article as inspiration. How has your practice been informed by the culture of the agency and the population served? How have you adapted your communication, assessments, and/or interventions to be equitable and inclusive? Finally, describe at least one concrete way in which you will advance your application of DEI within this agency setting. 

18 The New Social Worker Fall 2020

Social workers entering the field
often believe that the settings
where they are employed will

demonstrate the gold standard for be-
ing diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
Yet, during our field practica, most of
us learn that this is far from reality.
Admittedly, many of our employers
have begun to engage in the “Diversi-
ty, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) trend
to shift organizational culture. This
DEI movement has, at least to some
degree, better enabled professional
social workers to show up to work as
our authentic selves. Yet, being our
authentic selves at work can create
ethical dilemmas and challenges as
we attempt to deliver services to oth-
ers in a person-centered way that ex-
tends beyond the employer-employee
relationship.
In undergraduate and graduate
social work programs, students are of-
ten required to take a course focused
on working with populations that hold
marginalized identities, to develop
cultural awareness and sensitivity to
diversity. These programs evaluate
social work students on their ability to
recognize how identities will affect the
relationship between the client and
professional social worker. However,
there is a blind spot: few such courses
consider dominant identities and
consequential practice considerations.
As a Black, obese social worker,
I don’t recall having any classes that
focused on how a client with domi-
nant identities may be affected by my
marginalized identities and vice versa.
I wasn’t taught about how to work with
clients who came into the relationship
with a preconceived notion of what a
professional social worker looked and
talked like, particularly one in direct
opposition to who I am. There was no
lecture on how a professional with no
spiritual connection was supposed to
interface with a client who held very
conservative religious views. And even
though I can vividly recall intense dia-
logues about the importance of under-
standing the culture and lived experi-
ences of Black adolescent boys, I don’t

remember any discussions about the
socialization of a client who was raised
to uphold the principles of White
supremacy. Do educational programs
think that people with dominant social
identities (e.g., White, middle class,
educated) do not need social work
services? As I have learned in 20 years
of practice, there is no clear distinction
between individuals, families, organi-
zations, and communities that utilize
social work services. So what is a social
worker with marginalized identities to
do?

Unfortunately, when a social
worker is assigned a client in a public
setting, the worker often has no
theoretical framework to reference
when working with clients who do not
respect their identities. Experiences
that I have had personally and vicari-
ously through my supervisees include
but are not limited to: clients refus-
ing to allow a person of color in their
homes, a lack of ability to recognize
a social worker’s gender identity and
pronoun usage, complaints of unpro-
fessional demeanor and dress when
Black social workers wore their hair
in its natural state, requests for social
workers to remove their religious
headwear in the client’s presence, and
the use of derogatory terms and slurs
about non-dominant social identities.
The social work curriculum has not
offered any instruction on how to
handle such scenarios, and although
the easiest solution may be to refer
the client to another social worker,
this is not always a viable option.

Using my critical thinking com-
petency, I reviewed the National As-
sociation of Social Workers (NASW)
Code of Ethics to identify potential
courses of action that a social worker
facing such a situation could—and
should—take. The first section of
the ethical standards delineates our
professional responsibilities to clients.
The initial areas highlighted include
commitment to clients and self-deter-
mination. My interpretation is that I
am responsible to provide services to
people who have an identified need.

When guiding clients toward
inclusive practices, I must
remember that honoring self-
determination means support-
ing clients who have beliefs and
ideas that may be inconsistent
with my personal and profes-
sional values.
Given this interpretation, the
following strategies have sup-
ported me in my social work
practice amidst the current
social and political climate:

1. Obtain community support that
affirms my identity. This is not
the role or responsibility of my
clients. My Black social work col-
leagues and other professionals
and I can support and bolster one
another’s resilience.

2. Review theory of Human Behavior
in the Social Environment. I need
to be reminded that my client’s
responses are direct outcomes
of systemic issues that have a
negative impact on marginalized
identities. If I can understand
how trauma can affect the physi-
ological, social, and psychological
health of a person, I must also
take time to understand how the
current environment affects my
clients with privileged identities
or with internalized oppression.

3. Utilize supervision. Regularly
review issues of privilege, oppres-
sion, diversity, and social justice
that also include my non-domi-
nant identities.

Commitment to Clients and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
by Daicia Price, BSW, LMSW

The New Social Worker Fall2020 19

4. Self-reflect and self-educate. Examine
identities that I hold that are domi-
nant, gain knowledge through ed-
ucation relevant to non-dominant
identities, and identify intentional
actions that I can take to disrupt
oppression of these groups.

5. Prepare for foreseeable challenges.
Think of the most difficult client
that I could ever encounter who
would challenge me based on my
personal and professional experi-
ences, and develop an action plan
for minimizing projection and
countering transference.

6. Choose my work settings strategically.
Particularly after moving beyond
entry-level positions, I have some
measure of choice here. I can
exercise this choice to set myself
up for success while also being
knowledgeable about referral
options, access to colleagues, and
supervision.

7. Collaborate with clients to create a
plan. Use open-ended questions to
explore clients’ views and beliefs
and identify strategies to work
together as effectively as possible
if a referral is not feasible.

8. Reconsider the professional social
work path. If I am not able to
maintain my ethical responsibili-
ties to deliver services, I should
evaluate whether or not it is
appropriate for me to continue to
practice as a social worker.

9. Stay open-minded at all times.
NEVER say “I will never work
with….”

It is the responsibility of systems
to disrupt structural oppression, so
employers do need to examine—and
likely revise—their practices, policies,
and procedures to make progress
on this front. It is not, however, an
individual client’s burden or respon-
sibility to make me comfortable or
not receive services because of my
privileged or oppressed identities.
When our environment changes,
so will the clients we serve. For now,
we as social workers must be aware of
the social and environmental factors
that affect our clients’ behaviors and
be ready to adjust ourselves in ways
that make it possible to deliver ser-
vices to individuals with a variety of
identities. Each day will be a process,

and it will not be easy. However, by
continuing to get to know ourselves,
educate ourselves, and act to disrupt
an oppressive system, we can make a
difference and elevate social justice.

For Further Reading

Bartoli, E., & Pyati, A. (2009). Addressing
clients’ racism and racial prejudice in indi-
vidual psychotherapy: Therapeutic consider-
ations. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice,
Training, 46(2), 145–157. https://doi-org.proxy.
lib.umich.edu/10.1037/a0016023

Daicia
Price, BSW,
LMSW, is a
clinical assis-
tant professor
of social work
at University
of Michigan
School of So-
cial Work. A
graduate of Eastern Michigan University,
Daicia has gained micro, mezzo, and mac-
ro practice experience as a social worker in
juvenile justice, community mental health,
housing, education, and foster care.

Pramila Nepal—continued from page 3

Gates Foundation’s Educational
Outreach Program. As part of the
program, Nepal organizes programs
and workshops to assist high school
students with academic studies and
career preparation. “Some students
don’t have proper access to resources
on how to navigate higher educa-
tion,” she says.
For about a year, Nepal was
president of the Namaste Nepal As-
sociation at Louisiana Tech. Among
her duties was facilitating the transi-
tion of incoming international Nep-
alese students to the university and
providing guidance and leadership
to these students. “A big part of me
is the fact that my parents are ethnic
Nepalis from Bhutan; I consider
myself a Bhutanese-Nepali,” she
says. “During my time with Namaste
Nepal Association, I learned so much
about my own culture.”
She also learned how to work
with others and what leadership
means. “I found out that the primary

goal of being a leader is focusing on
the team members, on their growth
and development. It’s not about you
but about the people you serve,” she
asserts.
Nepal’s leadership qualities are
affirmed by Eboni Lunsford Calbow,
LCSW-S, PhD, clinical assistant pro-
fessor at Steve Hicks School of Social
Work at UT Austin.
“Pramila was a student in my
social work practice class, where we
came together as a cohort to process
field experiences and learn to turn
social work theory into practical ap-
plication,” says Calbow.
One of the “most-agreed-upon
qualities of good leadership is
true passion for your causes,” she
continues. “A person that is fueled
by their investment in being active
and inciting positive change is a
social work leader. Pramila is con-
scientious, bold, person-centered,
and I find her energy for this work
boundless.”

Calbow adds that she is so
impressed with all the young profes-
sionals entering social work and that
Nepal “is such a great example of
their versatility, their diligence, and
their dedication.”
Despite a busy life, Pramila
actively pursues her interests. She
spends a great deal of time with her
10-month-old Goldendoodle puppy,
Luna. She also enjoys running, medi-
tation, and interior decoration. The
COVID-19 lockdown has given her
time and inspiration for redoing her
apartment, as well as reading.
“During COVID-19, I’ve been
reading history books to learn more
about Black history, such as the book
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? From
the Projects to Prep School, a memoir by
Charlise Lyles,” she says.

Freelance writer Barbara Trainin Blank
lives in the greater Washington, DC, area.
She writes regularly for The New Social
Worker and other publications.

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