ABSTRACT
As a feminist, where do I find myself in these discussions? What was my motivation for undertaking a piece of social work specifically with men?
I came into social work with a primary interest in working with children. Their welfare has remained an important theme in my career. Valuing women as people in their own right was instilled in me from an early age, but feminist colleagues have played a significant role in encouraging me to recognise gender-based commonalities in the experiences of female clients, and connections between my life and the lives of my clients. Feminist perspectives
were even more influential in helping me to make sense of the difficulties of empowering women while patriarchal structures, which sustain male privilege, remain so embedded in society. My more recent experience of working in a very hierarchical, maledominated organisation has served to reinforce this lesson. My gender lens is sharper and stronger, my feminism is still developing.
