Gender and Property Rights

The International Housing Coalition and the Urban Institute recently released a report titled Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development.  Three main issues were discussed in this report: (1) the rights of women to participate in property use and ownership; (2) the role of women in economic development; and (3) the importance of economic development of residential and property rights in urban areas.

The main argument stemmed from the idea that poverty is feminized, i.e. women have less access to necessities when compared to men, which include water, food, shelter, income and education. Thus, with a focus on land and housing, the parameters of this report include, the current state of gender inequality, as well as the current policies and practices that hinder women’s access to land and housing

This 30-page report provides information on the efficacy of investing in women housing programs and that translates into economic development. The report also acts as a baseline study under the ‘Gender equality and Property rights’ theme, to which further research studies could be formulated.

The report can be downloaded using this link