Social Workers in Political Office: A Comparative Perspective on Recruitment, Career Patterns and Social Advocacy

Available open access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

One of the most significant ways that social workers can engage with policy is by holding elected office. How and why do social workers transition into political roles? And what impact do they have on policy making once they get there?

This book is the first systematic, comparative study of social workers in electoral politics across liberal democracies. Drawing on a common conceptual framework, leading scholars analyse the recruitment, career trajectories and advocacy roles of social workers in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The book highlights key similarities, differences and underlying factors that shape social workers’ political engagement.

This is a valuable resource for academics, practitioners, policy makers and students in social work, social policy and political science, offering fresh insights into the intersection of professional practice and political leadership.

Tobias Kindler is a research associate at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences and a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Sigrid Leitner is Professor for Social Policy at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.

Eva Maria Löffler is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.

Klaus Stolz is Professor of British and American Social and Cultural Studies at Chemnitz University of Technology.