The Politics of Unwanted Pregnancy: A Social Work Perspective

Tessa Cone, Social Work
Lisa Vetter, Political Science; Jayshree Jani, UMBC, Department of Social Work

In a country where bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom are no longer guaranteed, social workers have a responsibility to understand the current political climate and legislation, educate themselves and others on safe sex practices, and advocate for increased services and resources for pregnant people. Through a variety of qualitative and quantitative research, including first hand experiences, this research will guide social workers as they continue to provide support to pregnant people who have unwanted pregnancies in the post Roe era.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Exploring Barriers to the Hispanic Community of Baltimore: Perceived Discrimination in the Workplace

Natan Lichtman, Social Work
Kerri Evans, Social Work

Many Hispanic immigrants, especially those that are undocumented, endure poor working conditions and long hours while maintaining jobs that are significantly underpaid (Fernández et. al., 2021). That being said, their stories often remain unheard due to language barriers and/or not speaking up in fear of consequences. This research takes a deeper dive into a previous quantitative study with Dr. Evans regarding barriers to employment experienced by the Hispanic immigrant community of Baltimore, MD. The initial results found that many participants reported not having experienced discrimination, contradicting what we know to be true. To understand this discrepancy, 20 individuals from varying demographics that attend the Esperanza center, a social service organization that supports this population, participated in a 45-minute to one-hour interview regarding their pay, opportunity for advancement, workplace relationships, treatment by their employers, and discrimination based on various identities. At this point, the results have showed the common theme of a paradoxical relationship with their employers: on one hand, they pay them below minimum wage, deny requests off, and laugh off their attempts at self-advocacy; on the other, they provide them the opportunity to work in this country and support their families, and for that they are grateful.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

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