Culturally Competent Feminist Social Work: Listening to Diverse People

Feminist social work seeks to identify and redress oppression and its aftereffects. Models of culturally competent practice have been proposed to aid in these efforts. Yet it is not clear whether members of marginalized groups agree with feminist social workers' ideas regarding cultural competence. This article presents recommendations for culturally competent social work services that are based on in-depth interviews with 40 members of a range of oppressed groups. The recommendations support theoretical work in this area and offer achievable standards for feminist social workers who are seeking to enhance cultural competence that is grounded in the words of disenfranchised individuals.