Professor Charlotte Williams

Professor Charlotte Williams’ research interests focus on issues of contemporary multiculturalisms, ethnicities and ‘race’ as they come to bear on welfare and professional practices, but more broadly in corporate issues of equality and social justice within the context of particular welfare regimes.

As a professionally trained social worker, Charlotte has an ongoing research interest in issues of cultural diversity within social work education and practice. Her research is underpinned by an interdisciplinary body of theory drawing largely on comparative social policy, critical race theory, social geography, social development and theories of migration and multiculturalism. She has extensively theorised issues of place, locality and nationhood as they impact on welfare practices particularly in relation to the racialisation or exclusion of minoritised groups. Research approaches include participatory action methodologies and qualitative methodologies that articulate the voice of maginalised groups.

She is currently a member of RMIT’s .

Research interests

Emerging research interests include:

• Social work / Multiculturalism in Australia
• Issues for newly settled migrants
• Asylum and refugees
• A Social work of the City

Research supervision areas

• Multiculturalism / migration and mobilities
• Race  / ethnicity / cultural diversity and professional / welfare policy and practice
• Minority group exclusion and welfare practice
• Social work and social justice
• Civil society – minority organisations, participation and governance
• Cross cultural social work or transnational social work
• Internationalism and social work

• PhD Wales
• CQSW MA Social Work

Charlotte has over 25 years of experience in social work education with the last ten years in senior academic leadership roles.

She is a professionally qualified social worker and has worked in a range of social services including housing, health and social development settings as well as statutory social work. Charlotte has worked extensively with public policy organisations in England and Wales. She has held public appointments on the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) Committees both in Wales and UK wide. She is a member of the Australian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Work.

In 2007 Charlotte was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honors List for services to ethnic minorities and equal opportunities in Wales.

Charlotte sits on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Social Work, Ethics and Social Welfare (AustralAsia) and is a member of the international Advisory Board of Critical Social Policy.