The graces in the figure about are not an exhaustive list, and can be adapted. Naming power differences can invite service users, colleagues or even friends to share the social graces which they feel can hold them back, or even cloud their judgement of others. In doing so, it is far easier to identify (and work on) our own prejudice, or indeed on our own privilege. One of the key aims of the graces is to ‘name’ power differentials. So, over time, the ‘dis’ was dropped, and the ‘social’ added to the front, to highlight the fact that the graces have an impact not only on an individual level, but are activated within the community. Originally, the pneumonic was arranged as ‘disgraces’ to highlight the fact that such inequalities were ‘disgraceful’, but it was feared this could be rather off-putting. The term ‘Social Graces’, Rowland explained, is a mnemonic to help us remember some of the key features that influence personal and social identity (see figure 1), as developed by John Burhnham, Alison Roper-Hall and colleagues (1992).

In order to get to grips with the Social Graces tool, I consulted with Rowland Coombes, a family systemic psychotherapist, and a clinical lead at the Centre for Systemic Social Work. The Social Graces is one of the tools which can help us to achieve this. We need tangible tools we can use to fight against prejudice, to acknowledge privilege, and to redistribute power. Have you ever been overlooked for a promotion because of your gender?.Have you ever felt too intimidated to disclose your sexuality to colleagues?.Has a disability ever prevented you from contributing to the workplace?.Have you ever been rejected from a job application solely based on your surname?.But do you dare to ask yourself the following? “But just because I might conform to privilege, it doesn’t mean I’ve had it easy”.Īnd this is true. And few can, no matter the amount of hard-work, realistically, close that gap. Whilst some race forward in streamlined running shoes, unaware of the privilege lurching them forward, others are glued firmly to the starting line.Įthnicity, class, disability or gender hinder their progress from the first millisecond of the race.

No matter what platitudes we learn about equality and diversity at school, or in the workplace, it is clear that not everyone begins the marathon of life on the same footing. This interaction speaks volumes of institutionalised racism. He began to use language such as ‘Sir’, addressing those who harmed him as though they were his superiors. ‘I can’t breathe’, he said.Īs the minutes passed by, George reverted to system of hierarchy, to appease his killers. George Floyd’s last words, as he was murdered, will haunt us forever. Coronavirus deaths are doubled in affluent areas compared with the most deprived.īeyond our own shores, global events remind us that equality is but a distant dream. There is no question that the coronavirus has widened the schism between the rich and the poor. If you asked the same question today, on 29th June as we approach the half-way mark of the year, the answer would be unequivocal. And certainly not after the referendum, which saw 71% of ethnic minorities reporting racial discrimination, compared with 58% in January 2016 before the EU vote. Not after a decade of austerity, which saw poverty skyrocket to 1.2 million up from 41,000 in 2010. On January 1st 2020, if you had asked the average social worker whether they operated in a fair and just society, the resounding answer would have been ‘no’.

Social work cultural genogram