A key principle of systemic practice is in recognising how social attributes (gender, race, religion, age, ability, class, culture, ethnicity, education, sexuality, spirituality) can lead to structural inequalities and impact on how families are perceived by social workers. This should be fully explored in supervision.

The BASW code of ethics requires social workers to recognise diversity and apply anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive principles in their practice.

Social workers should also refer to Camden's equality and diversity policies and aim to apply these principles to all aspects of their work and all professional relationships.