The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic and 2020 Racial Justice Protests on the Political Attitudes and Behaviors of Social Workers

Background and Purpose:

This study examined how the political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of social workers were influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 racial justice protests.

Methods:

To understand social workers’ perceptions relating to social welfare policy, governance, and political participation, the authors conducted an in-depth national survey among members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) from August to October 2020. Drawing from this larger study (N=141), we analyzed qualitative open-ended responses to the following four questions:

• How, if at all, has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your thoughts about social welfare policies and / or the role of government?
• How, if at all, has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your political participation and civic engagement?
• How, if at all, have the recent responses to police brutality and racial injustice influenced your thoughts about social welfare policies and / or the role of government?
• How, if at all, have the recent responses to police brutality and racial injustice influenced your political participation and civic engagement?

To analyze the data, each member of the four-person research team inductively derived key themes from respondents’ answers. They met to compare themes and create a codebook. Each author then coded for dominant themes, explored thematic connections, and noted the presence of counterthemes within an iterative process of team meetings to check for inter-coder reliability.

Results:

Respondents stated that their ideas and behaviors relating to politics and political action have changed as a result of the pandemic and the racial justice protests. Overall, respondents perceived that the pandemic exacerbated and illuminated already existing inequities. They described a diminished belief that the government cares for its citizens, and many expressed the need to improve access to healthcare and social welfare programs. When it came to the protests against racial injustice, responses were comparatively introspective – less about the failure of the federal government and more about how the social work profession could do better in addressing racist practices.

Perceptions of changes in activism were varied. While a majority reported increased activism in response to the murder of George Floyd, there were others who said that they participated at the same level or less. For those that participated, most mentioned a change in mode of activism because of the pandemic. Although not directly asked about criminal justice reform, respondents described caution and varied opinions about defunding the police. Many called upon the NASW and other social work organizations to provide training around activism and advocacy, mentioning that their social work programs and organizations did not adequately provide this.

Implications:

The pandemic led respondents to believe more strongly in the need for the government to expand systems of care. The racial justice protests contributed to the perception of missed opportunities for social work professional bodies to support, train, and organize social workers in pursuit of racial justice. In sum, responses to both the pandemic and racial justice protests point to the need for broader advocacy training in schools of social work and in social service organizations.