CHALLENGES OF THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Despite tremendous progress in the 20th century in increasing life expectancy and spreading freedom and democracy, serious problems of poverty, environmental degradation, gender discrimination, racial and ethnic discord, and social inequality persist in most parts of the world as we enter the 21st century. A dynamic profession of social work, committed internally to knowledge development and to furthering the competence of its members and externally to high quality care giving and to substantive institutional reform, must carve out a role for itself in meeting the great challenge of our time, viz. balancing economic development with social equity.