Alice Stoakes, RMIT University

The impact of change in a woman's marital status, such as divorce, on the labour and housing market experiences of female-headed households

The aim of this project is to understand and measure the impact of change in a woman's marital status, such as divorce, on the labour and housing market experiences of female-headed households. The research will shed light on how particular government policies impact on housing and labour market directions of these households. The research will ask four questions:

  1. Do women's housing transitions as a result of separation, divorce or being widowed contribute to a disadvantaged labour market position?
  2. In what ways are housing outcomes affected by the distribution of earned income and housing assistance particularly comparing single, separated, divorced and widowed women and men?
  3. To what extent do the housing and labour markets, and welfare institutions, actively work to reduce income disparities between female and male headed households?
  4. What are the differences in household consumption and expenditure between different women headed household types, controlling for tenure and socio-economic status?

My goal is to discover whether changes in women's socio-economic status is associated with growing or diminishing prospects in the housing market, and how this in turn feeds into what job opportunities are available in terms of, for example, wages, job security and work related expenses. Are women-headed households typically limited to poor/low wage opportunities compared to their male counterparts?

- Alice Stoakes, December 2005

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