Accommodating Inequality

"...provides further evidence not of the archaic nature of gender divisions but of their very real significance in structuring the access to housing ...[and] a wealth of empirical evidence about women's position in housing markets and in urban and suburban environments." - "Housing Studies" "...a welcome addition both to feminist scholarship and to studies of housing." - "Environment & Planning" "Accommodating inequality" challenges traditional notions that dominate the provision of housing in Australia: the male-dominated nuclear family and the sanctity of individual free choice. The result is that individual home ownership has primacy; other forms of tenure, such as public housing or housing co-operatives, are relegated to the margins. Flexible alternative forms of accommodation which reflect the real diversity of household needs are almost non-existent. Too often debate and policy operate amidst a web of "received wisdoms" from which women and their needs are largely absent. "Sophie Watson is a Reader in the Social Policy Department at the University of Bristol. She was involved in the early refuge movement and has set up several housing organizations for women in London.
Among her many publications are "Women on the margins", "Housing and home issues: a feminist perspective" and, as co-author, "Women over sixty. This book is intended for students and researchers in town and country planning and gender studies.