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Social Work vocabulary · Community Work

Social exclusion

Meaning in social work, with examples

nounCommon term

In social work, social exclusion means: Being shut out, fully or partly, from the economic, social and cultural life of society, for example from work, services, housing or community activities.

In Turkish: sosyal dışlanma, toplumsal dışlanma

How it is used

A broader idea than poverty, as it also includes isolation, discrimination and lack of access. Policy documents talk about tackling or reducing social exclusion and promoting social inclusion, its opposite.

Example sentences

  1. Long-term unemployment can lead to social exclusion and isolation.

  2. The project tackles social exclusion among older migrants.

Common collocations

  • tackle social exclusion
  • risk of social exclusion
  • social inclusion
  • poverty and social exclusion
  • povertyNot having enough money or resources to meet basic needs such as food, housing and heating, or to take part in normal life in society.
  • vulnerableMore likely than others to be harmed, exploited or left without support because of age, illness, disability, poverty or other circumstances.
  • community developmentWork with local people to identify shared problems and strengths and to take collective action that improves life in their community.
  • anti-oppressive practiceAn approach that recognises how power, discrimination and inequality affect people's lives and works to challenge them, both in the system and in the worker's own practice.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Community Work

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