Racialized social work professionals’ experiences with racism

This research study examined the experiences of racialized social workers in Canada through semi-structured interviews with five participants. Grounded theory analysis revealed six themes: participants’ experience with racism; bearing the burden: professional and personal responsibility; progress, regression, and stagnation: addressing racism; participants’ personal response to racism; participants’ experiences reporting racism; and identity, role and resilience in social work. Across all themes, participants described pervasive racism. The findings highlight the emotional labor of racialized practitioners who must advocate for racialized clients, shoulder microaggressions, and challenge racism without organizational support. Implications for social work and policy include the need for culturally responsive leadership, formal reporting mechanisms, and anti-racism training developed by racialized professionals. Future researchers should expand the sample size and compare experiences across settings. The findings from this study reinforce the importance of an anti-racist frameworks in social work education and practice.