In 2013, social sciences were nearly excluded from one of the world’s most significant scientific research programs—the European Commission’s Research Framework, Horizon 2020. To continue with their funding, researchers were required to provide evidence of how the millions of euros invested in their projects had contributed to reducing poverty, inequality, or addressing their stated objectives. In fact, many decision-makers were concerned that most research in this field produced only descriptive findings with little tangible impact.
At the same time, Social Work has historically been regarded as a second-tier discipline in the traditionally gender-biased hierarchy, as the field’s pioneers and the majority of social workers have been women. Social Work has struggled for equal recognition alongside other social sciences across different countries. This disparity is evident in factors such as its standing within national academic institutions and the evaluation and funding of research, limiting its ability to secure essential resources for further advancing the discipline in certain contexts.
However, these social impact and co-creation requirements place Social Work in an advantageous position. This trend is being analyzed and published in scientific literature. Since its beginnings, this discipline has aimed to improve citizens’ lives (social impact), and it has done so by co-creating in egalitarian dialogue with the interested populations. An example can be seen in the words of one of the main pioneers of Social Work, Jane Addams. To her, the objective of the work she did at the Hull House, in the industrial areas of Chicago was the following:
“‘To provide a center for a higher civic and social life; to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises, and to investigate and improve the conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago.” (p. 112, 1910)
And she did so by listening to the voices of the inhabitants of such districts, in co-creation:
“The experience of the coffee-house taught us not to hold to preconceived ideas of what the neighborhood ought to have, but to keep ourselves in readiness to modify and adapt our undertakings as we discovered those things which the neighborhood was ready to accept” (p. 132, 1910)
In conclusion, the gendered bias of Social Work as a second-tier discipline is being overcome by the current scientific revolution affecting all sciences. The scientific landscape is shifting toward prioritizing social impact and co-creation, areas where Social Work excels.
Principal Investigator of RCI-TS Research Group (Interdisciplinary Scientific Research in Social Work), which has achieved the maximum evaluation and funding by the Catalan Government’s program (SGR).
Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the Universidad de Barcelona
Clarinetist graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Aragón.