Ethics & Diversity: Using "Intersectional Ethics" to Provide a Framework for Ethical Deliberation

Open to all social workers and students

Presenter: Bibiana D. Koh, Ph.D., MA, MAT, MSW, LCSW-C

2 CEUs, may be counted as ethics or cultural responsiveness CEUs


In the coming years, social workers should expect to work with an increasingly diverse population. The US Census Bureau projects increased diversity with respect to race and ethnicity by the year 2060. This increasing diversity is likely to be reflected in social work. Thus, accounting for diversity in our ethical practice – including our ethical deliberation processes – is paramount. Cultural values and beliefs – embedded in diversity – are undoubtedly central to our ethical social work practice.

Consistent with recent Minnesota Board of Social Work legislation (effective August 1, 2020) to expand the definition of social work ethics “to include cultural awareness and social diversity,” this interactive workshop proposes the use of a new model: “intersectional ethics”. Drawing from intersectionality, this model seeks to support critical reflectivity in decision-making and deliberative processes. “Intersectional ethics” also provides an anti-oppressive ethics practice framework to move beyond dominant theories such as deontology and utilitarianism to include non-dominant moral theories such as Buddhist and Confucian ethics. As workshop participants will learn, “intersectional ethics” seeks to honor, preserve, and advance diverse human relationships and cultures in social work ethics practice.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the intersections of ethnicity, culture, and diversity in ethical decision-making and deliberation
• Develop an understanding about how to apply intersectional ethics as a guiding framework in ethical decision-making and deliberation
• Obtain a basic knowledge of dominant and non-dominant moral theories that account for ethnicity, culture, and diversity in ethical deliberation

About the Presenter
Dr. Koh joined the School of Social Work at Salisbury University as an Associate Professor in Fall 2021. She was previously at Augsburg University (Minneapolis, Minnesota) for nine years, where she held a three-year university appointment (2018-2021) as the Batalden Scholar in Applied Ethics. Her work in this role focused on (a) examining the intersections of ethnicity, culture, and ethics and, (b) extending applied ethics conversations to non-Eurocentric ethical approaches including Buddhist, Neo-Confucian, and Hmong Shaman. She is a member of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women.

Dr. Koh is currently part of the leadership team for Lower Shore Alliance for Prison Education (LSAPE). In October 2022, she moderated a panel discussion on “Ethics for Everyone Means Ethics in Prisons: Ethics Education as Philosophical Enfranchisement” at the 12th Annual National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP). Dr. Koh has clinical experience in multiple settings including schools, community and hospital-based clinics, group homes and shelters, and private practice. She has lived and taught overseas in China, Korea, Morocco, and Laos. She has also been part of team-led heritage tours to Korea, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan with transnational/intercountry adoptive families.

Pricing
NASW Student/Reitred Member $20
NASW Member $30
Not-Yet-Member $50

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