Resiliency is the ability to bounce back or cope well in the face of adversity, and preventionists are recognizing the promise of this approach, with its emphasis on strengths and the enhancement of individual and environmental protective factors. Feminist scholars and resiliency researchers have highlighted significant gender differences in susceptibility to, and protection from, situations of risk. However, there are few prevention programs that have incorporated gender-specific resiliency strategies. This paper will argue for the importance in the field of substance abuse prevention of developing different strategies for girls and boys to meet their varying needs.
Using a career development perspective, the author studied 55 social work managers to determine gender-related issues that affect promotions to first managerial positions. Despite equal access to education, training, mentors, and promotions from within their organizations, the women were promoted at a significantly slower pace than were the men. In addition, the women felt less confident about a move to management, and each sex tended to recommend and support its own members' promotions.There are several gender-related inconsistencies in the career development of managers in social work. A study of status differentials using data collected by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the 1970s (Fanshel, 1976) indicated that the proportion of men in administrative positions was more than twice that of women and that men earned significantly higher salaries. In more recent studies, the results have been similar. Men continue to hold two thirds of the managerial jobs in a profession that is two thirds women (Austin, 1988 ;Fortune & Hanks, 1988). A survey of the New York State Chapter of NASW in the late 1980s (&dquo;Salary Survey,&dquo; found that 29 percent of all male members were in administrative positions, compared to 17 percent of all female members and that the median annual salary of the men was $6,000 more than that of the women.
A preliminary study of a statewide life-skills job-readiness program in which 116 female Temporary Assistance to Needy Families recipients participated found that significant gains made in curricular areas were positively correlated with self-esteem and social supports. The responses to a qualitative survey and ethnographic data revealed these women's strengths and the ways in which gender may have facilitated positive outcomes.Previous evaluations of welfare-to-work efforts have stressed the need for comprehensive programs that address the various needs of the primarily female participants. They have documented the importance of including preemployment, life
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