Download NASW-NJ Diversity Plan – A Call to Action

NASW-NJ Diversity Plan – A Call to Action
Many Faces: One Profession
This year’s conference, with a focus on cultural competence in all areas of practice, is a direct
result of the newly created Diversity Plan for NASW-NJ.
For more information don’t miss Special One-Hour Information Session:
Everything I Needed to Know About Diversity I Learned Before Breakfast
Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00 AM!
We would all agree that membership and leadership in NASW-NJ should reflect the diverse
composition of the state of NJ. However, in order to do so, the current leadership structure of
NASW-NJ would need to change from a primarily white male/white female organization to one
that proportionately resembles the demographics of our state. Culturally competent, culturally
sensitive practices, discussion of white privilege, social justice, critical consciousness and anti-racist
perspectives should be infused into all of our chapter’s daily business practices. This newly created
Diversity Plan operates on the foundation and constructs that are set forth in the national document,
“Institutional Racism & the Social Work Profession: A Call to Action” (www.socialworkers.org). NASWNJ recognizes institutional racism is a reality, even in our own organization. Our goal is to create
dialogue and action with measureable positive results; heighten awareness of overt and institutional
racism; and challenge the inherent inequities and historical injustices of white privilege. If we hope to
enact social change and social justice in our communities and in our work, we must create
social change within our own chapter first!
How do the demographics of NJ compare to those of NASW-NJ?
Whites: make up 76% of the state’s population, representing 86% of NASW-NJ members.
Blacks: make up almost 15% of the NJ population, while only representing 6% of our chapter.
Asians: account for 7% of NJ residents, but less than 2% of NASW-NJ.
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin: account for 16% of the state’s population, yet only 4% of our
membership.
Males: make up 22% of the social workers in New Jersey and 17% of the membership in NASW-NJ.
Who are we serving?
Statewide, the populations we are serving are often disproportionately affected by the system in
regards to race. For example, 53% of children in out of home placements are Black/African American
and 62% of offenders in correctional institutions in NJ are members of this same race.
What can we do?
To increase diversity in our membership, strengthen the voice of members of color in decision-making
roles within the chapter, and address issues relevant to communities of color, a number of strategies
have been developed:

Leadership
Historically, white males have been in positions of power in our chapter, which does not
adequately represent the composition of the membership, thus, NASW-NJ will engage in efforts
to recruit and prepare a more diversified group of members for positions of leadership through
training, dialogue, monitoring, review of recruitment practices, and identification of barriers to
culturally competent practices.

Membership
White females are the majority group who make up the current membership of our
organization, thus, NASW-NJ seeks to increase members who come from diverse cultures and
backgrounds through new recruitment strategies; development of relevant programming,
special interest groups, and committee participation; and infusing issues of diversity, cultural
competency, and social justice through our media outlets.

Service Delivery & Business Practice
As service delivery is a key component of social work practice, it is also a driving force of the
administrative and business practices of our chapter, thus, NASW-NJ will ensure that issues of
social justice are infused into strategic planning; utilize diverse vendors/suppliers to generate
economic growth in the communities NJ social workers serve; and monitor and review both
business practices and the human resource practices of NASW-NJ.

Professional Education
It is important to ensure that social workers will be competent as they exit their respective
programs in schools of social work, thus, NASW-NJ will engage in open dialogues with NJ
schools of social work to promote recruitment and retention of minority faculty and students,
encourage schools to develop additional electives to address White Privilege/Structural Racism
and Oppression, and ensure that continuing education workshops are infused with social
justice principles.

Empowerment, Advocacy & Accountability
These three principles are critical in affecting social change, thus, NASW-NJ will assess the
current power structure in our chapter, dismantle white privilege and institutional racism, and
ensure that communities of color, aging, LGBT, and other under-represented populations feel
empowered through support of legislation that embraces diversity and local community efforts
that promote social justice.

Partnerships, Coalitions & Collaborations
Developing and maintaining relationships with groups that have similar goals helps increase
the strength of NASW-NJ’s voice, the social work profession, and the individuals and
communities we serve, thus, NASW-NJ will develop relationships with organizations that
advocate for equal rights.

Evaluation
An important part of this Diversity Plan will be to assess the degree to which social workers of
color are more active participants in the chapter through committee participation, leadership
roles, as well as attendance and participation in continuing education activities, thus NASW-NJ
will collect and analyze membership data in this regard.

Accountability
The Accountability for the implementation of this plan is the responsibility of the NASW-NJ
Executive Director, with the consultation and recommendations of the Committee on Diversity
and Cultural Competency, as well as input from various special interest groups.
Interested? For more information and to read the full plan, go to www.naswnj.org