Feminizarea profesiei de asistent social în România. Studiu privind proporţia femeilor în funcţii de conducere [Feminisation of the Social Work Profession in Romania. Study on the Proportion of Women in Management Positions]

The study is based on administrative data received from General Directorates of Social Work and Child Protection (DGASPCs) and Directorates of Social Work/ The Departments of Social and Medical Assistance and Public Social Work Services (DASs/ DASMs/ SPASs) in Romania in 2022. In none of the DGASPCs in the country does the number of male managers exceed the number of female managers. Half of the DGASPCs in the country have women in positions with management attributions of these institutions. The average number of staff in management positions in all 48 DGASPCs in the country is 37 women, the most in a DGASPC in Bucharest, the fewest in DGASPC Bistriţa-Năsăud. More than half of the DGASPCs in the country, 26 DGASPCs have a female director general at the head of the institution, compared to only 15 DGASPCs headed by men. And in the DASs of the county town halls, the majority of the managers are female. Of the total number of DASs in county capitals across the country, 78.23% have women in management positions in their own apparatus or in subordinate units and structures. So, whether we are talking about county or local social welfare institutions, the majority are headed by women. In order to interpret these data, in further studies it is worth conducting interviews to see why women assume leadership positions to a greater extent than men in the social work field, or is the trend due to the higher number of female persons working in the field compared to male persons.


Keywords: feminisation of the social work profession, women in leadership positions, social work institutions