Talking Social Work

The Anxious Workforce? What might the Gen Z female mental health crisis mean for the future of social work and the professions? Eighty-two per cent of Scotland's social workers are women, and the next generation will come from Gen Z, whose young women face a well-documented mental health crisis. Our survey at the University of Dundee found poor well-being, high rates of diagnosed mental illness, and beliefs centred on beauty, social comparison, negative feelings towards men and female victimhood. Add concept creep and safetyism, and we risk graduating practitioners who hear disagreement as danger, in a profession built on hard conversations. We suggest that a shift from 'victim feminism' to 'power feminism' could help turn the tide. Social work is our case study, but the questions matter equally for nursing, teaching and every other female-dominated human profession. This session will be beneficial to students and practitioners across a range of disciplines and professions