Career Areas
An Overview: Social Justice in Different Sectors
Social injustices appear from the failures to recognize how injustices are created and reinforced in societal systems. The histories of these systems include the repetition of exploiting and oppressing individuals, leading to the creation of injustices. Social Justice works towards providing structure, accountability, access, and resources to correct injustice. Social justice is relevant in every system introduced to society. Due to the variety of careers involved in social justice, it is important to understand which individuals will thrive in specific sectors or fields in order to adequately achieve success. However, for those with limitations, there are several ways to work within Social Justice sectors beyond a professional career.
Anti-Corruption through Law and Policy
A career in anti-corruption involves identifying persons or groups that abuse or solicit benefits for returns of power, holding them accountable, and potentially prosecuting such individuals. According to estimates, over $1 trillion dollars is spent on bribes worldwide. The United States ranks 25th among 180 countries for the least amount of corruption, but indexes see the U.S. ranking falling since 2015 because of misinformation and record spending in U.S. elections. After the 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, dark money, more wealthy donor contributions, and powerful political action committees (PACs) have all increased the amount of money flowing through elections. As a result, confidence in elections and elected officials is dropping precipitously. Careers in anti-corruption are listed on the page linked below, with categories ranging from interest groups, legal professions, campaign jobs, and government organizations. There are numerous ways to work against corruption in politics and law.
Art & Social Justice
Throughout history, artists were considered artisans and craftspeople who were hired for a job to build structures or something the consumer desired. Now we see artists as individuals who express themselves through art in a wide variety of forms. To be an artist is to be on a constant quest for discovery and knowledge about the world and individual experiences. There is not one right way to be an artist; there is a wide variety of art forms like music, sculpting, photography, singing, writing etc. Within varying cultures, art can be used to represent the beliefs, ideas, and customs that a society may value. Looking at artworks and artifacts of different cultures can show us what traditions and philosophies that specific culture values. Art may even inspire others to reflect on their own cultures and traditions. Artists are willing to express their thoughts and emotions in a way that not only feeds the mind, but also helps educate and build communities.
Child Welfare
Individuals working in the area of child welfare are committed to the safety and well-being of children and provide support to their families. The vocational journey of those pursuing a career in child welfare can send individuals in many different directions given the plethora of employment opportunities. Through this guide, individuals can find information about careers, opportunities for engagement, and other valuable resources all pertaining to Child Welfare.
Criminal Legal Justice System Reform
Criminal law reform tackles the issue of structural systems of oppression that lead to disproportionate rates of imprisonment against BIPOC, low-socioeconomic, and other disadvantaged communities. Topics include (but are not limited to) mass incarceration, the war on drugs, abolition, school-to-prison-pipeline, wrongful convictions, restorative justice, social impacts of incarceration (on family members and community), police brutality, and racial profiling.
Disability Justice
This section of the careers in social justice website is dedicated to fruitful work in the field of disability justice and services. It should serve as a guide to navigate various different experiences as well as professions that will provide for people with all kinds of intellectual or physical disabilities. We highlight the countless educational opportunities surrounding this topic at our university, local community outreach organizations to volunteer for, and resources available for transitioning into the workforce.
Environment & Sustainability
The environmental field is constantly changing and intersecting across boundaries. From community organizing to fieldwork to creating policy, the array of possible careers in the environmental field is vast and diverse. Such an interdisciplinary field can often make it difficult to determine your interests and understand how to effectively prepare for future careers. With this guide, we hope to ease that process by providing you with possible opportunities for education and experiences related to the environmental field.
Environmental Justice
Environmental justice and advocacy as a career field combine environmental, political, social, and historical knowledge with critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Students following this path of courses and future careers are mixing an environmental passion through a socially equitable lens. The EPA defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, or national origin concerning the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
Food Justice
What is food justice? How can it be defined? What does it have to do with our collective future and the health of the planet? Well, as the above picture portends, food justice involves producing food in local, sustainable ways for the locals. Organic food grown by the community, for the community. We think of food justice as using what we eat to do justice for our bodies and our community. Food justice—especially in an industrial agriculture state like Iowa—is decolonial, sustainability-focused, and works towards food sovereignty for vulnerable populations. Food justice needs to include decolonialization in the sense that Iowa’s massive, pesticide-using monoculture crop systems are the product of colonizer mindsets that view soil as a commodity only good for maximizing plant yield.
Immigration & Refugees
Immigration and refugee service workers are crucial to the lives of those in need. The needed education and skills of these careers can range from an associate’s degree all the way to a master’s degree. From being an interpreter to being an immigration case manager, there are thousands of positions that are always able to be filled by compassionate, understanding individuals.
LGBTQ+ Advocacy
Media Justice
The media connects everyone and highlights major moments and movements around the world. Because this is a growing field, there are plenty of future jobs and career tracks. Media justice means using the power of media to promote underrepresented communities and create a society where diverse perspectives are acknowledged and heard. Media justice is known as a newer field of social justice that aims to encourage fairness, inclusivity, and realistic portrayals of groups and people presented in the media. Media justice also seeks to empower communities through activism and fair access to digital media to create an equitable and safe space for everyone. One example of this is media activism, which uses digital communications and media as a form of expression and a channel to create change.
Mental Health
The field of mental health is a wide-ranging career field filled with many professional opportunities. The careers that will be discussed in this guide include psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health social workers.
Multicultural Equality
There are many careers, courses and resources that support and help the LGBTQ+ community as well as Gender Inequality, Black women Lives, and multicultural communities that still struggle to be themselves as privilege isn’t fair for them. LGBTQ+ and Multiculturalism go hand-in-hand in a very unique way, especially when it comes to western and eastern cultures. The LQBTQ+ communities have fought to obtain their rights, as they have experienced systematic stigmatization and exclusion from mainstream cultures.
Recidivism & Re-Entry of People Who Have Been Incarcerated
While justice for victims of crime may require a sentencing, it is also important that there is some sort of justice for the offender once they are released. Unfortunately, this is not the case in America today. In our reality, two out of three former prisoners are rearrested within just three years of being initially released. We can simply blame this on criminals for breaking the law again after prior punishment, or we can look further into why they may be committing punishable crimes again so quickly. Do the systems we have set up for current and former prisoners really help them prepare again for the outside world?
After being released, former prisoners have little access to healthcare, education, housing, jobs, and many other basic necessities. They are often set up for failure. Many end up back behind bars because the outside is too much for them. They end up homeless and jobless, making it easier for them to just go back to jail where they’ll have a roof over their head and food on the table. While our criminal legal system is flawed in this area, there are many jobs and opportunities that can help former inmates prepare for the outside world.
Violence Prevention & Victim Advocacy
Violence prevention is a diverse field that aims to help advocate for victims. Advocacy can come in many different forms, including but not limited to raising awareness, research, developing methods to reduce violence based on evidence, non-profit management, supportive program development, and direct support.
Voting Rights, Engagement, & Policy
The field of voting encompasses many different kinds of careers, but it’s easiest to sort them into voting engagement and voting rights. Voting engagement careers tend to be centered in organizations with political motives, with a range of positions from door-knockers to board executives. Careers in establishing voting rights have a broader collection of fields to work in. Voting rights fields can include the legal sphere, government work, and certain non-profit political organizations. Voting rights activists and advocates have made huge strides throughout history toward social and political equality, but there remains work to be done. Voting engagement work seems to be endless, as the election season and need for political mobilization reignite every couple of years.