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4 Whole Person Librarianship much library work happens in view of the community, they can seem much more present than social workers. However, social work is entwined with nearly every support system in society, a fact we will explore more in chapter 1. Contemporary librarianship and social work carry forward the effects of their history as “women’s work” with significant female majorities: 82.5% of social workers are women, while 79.5% of librarians are women (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018a, 2018b). A recent study of academic libraries shows women continue to lag behind men in pay and are less likely to negotiate higher salaries until they reach positions of power (Silva and Galbraith 2018), while library administrative and management positions continue to skew male in extreme disproportion to the population’s overall gender makeup. Concerning racial identity, social workers do somewhat better: 70% of them are white, versus 86% of librarians. The remaining social workers are 24% black, 4% Asian, and 14% Hispanic, as compared to librarians, who are 5% Asian and 10% Hispanic but only 6% black. We are curious, given how simi- lar the rest of our histories and current statistics are, why black social work- ers are noticeably more numerous than black librarians. It may be the result of social work’s persistent adherence to social justice ideals, but we can’t know for sure based on surface data and would be interested in follow-up, comparative studies. Regardless of their differences, though, these statistics reveal discrepancies between both professions and the populations they serve. This provides con- text for understanding the importance of institutional accountability (explored more fully in chapter 6), which is critical when working with vulnerable popu- lations. Differences can get in the way of service and need to be revealed and examined, repeatedly and with humility, by those of us holding positional power. This is something we stress throughout the book, and we encourage readers to delve into the many complementary publications and learning opportunities available regarding social justice and equity work in libraries. We provide some recommended starting points in this chapter’s online resources. Shared Ethics Reflecting our common heritage, librarianship and social work share sig- nificant overlap in our professional ethics. These ethics guide and influence the way we behave in the field, prioritize and structure tasks, and make deci- sions. Sometimes, where these ethics lead to different choices, they can prompt misunderstandings. However, we encourage readers to consider these as opportunities to learn more about each other. Because of the influ- ence our ethics have in every part of our working lives, we’ll be referencing them throughout the book. Links to national and international library and social work codes of ethics are provided in this chapter’s online resources.