A conceptualisation of equitable social work practice with transgender and gender diverse communities

Abstract

Abstract Although the experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people are increasingly recognised as relevant sites of inquiry in social work scholarship, empirically substantiated insights on equitable approaches to social work practice with TGD communities remain scant. In this qualitative study, we draw on semi-structured virtual interviews with TGD social service users in a Canadian province (n = 20), along with social workers in the same jurisdiction (n = 10), to generate knowledge on equitable social work practice with TGD populations. We rely on critical ecosystemic and intersectional lenses as guiding theoretical frameworks, together with constructivist approaches to grounded theory, to inform our analytical process. Our findings highlight that equitable social work practice with TGD communities may involve the following constituents: (1) accounting for social and historical context; (2) practising allyship by way of humility and reflexivity; (3) challenging cisnormativity interpersonally and organisationally and (4) promoting structural measures of trans inclusion to transform social work and social services. Drawing on our findings, we call on social work scholars, educators and practitioners to adopt various reflexive, relational, organisational and structural measures that promise to enhance social work’s contribution to greater equity and social justice for TGD communities.