remaining in housing, inadequate housing, and blocked res­idential mobility. In all these dimensions, being a woman is a factor that either triggers or aggravates housing insecurity. This paper examines some of these dimensions in greater depth in order to understand the mechanisms that place women at the forefront of housing insecurity and to show how housing policies can better address the specific vulner­abilities faced by women. Barriers to Housing Access for Women Access to housing—whether through renting(private or so­cial housing) or home ownership—is increasingly difficult today, particularly due to two combined effects: the increase in poverty 4 and the widening of inequalities 5 . These effects are amplified for women 6 . Women are generally poorer on average than men 7 , more likely to hold part-time jobs 8 , over­represented among single-parent families 9 , and less likely to own property. Insufficient financial resources, combined with the discrimi­nation and stereotypes women may face—particularly single mothers with teenage children, who may be perceived as “troublemakers” or, conversely, as“vulnerable”—further fuel the difficulties they encounter in accessing housing. Public authorities can mobilize several levers to take ac­count of women’s specific difficulties in accessing housing. First, it is possible to address the root causes of poor housing by reducing income inequalities between men and women, for example through better pay and working conditions for part-time jobs, or by promoting equal inheritance practices among lawyers and other legal professionals. Second, all institutions working on access to housing must take account of the discrimination experienced by women. For example, by strengthening public awareness campaigns about the role of France’s Defender of Rights 10 ( Défenseur des droits), and the possibility of reporting gender-based dis­crimination. A broader action plan against gender discrim­ination in housing access could also be considered, similar to the anti-discrimination plan implemented by the city of Bordeaux in 2022 11 . Finally, a third area concerns housing policy itself. It would be entirely possible to give greater weight to single-parent families in the housing allocation scoring system 12 , which has been mandatory since the adoption of France’s 2018 ELAN Housing Law. Although this scoring system is“only a decision-support tool” for the allocation of social housing, it remains a valuable instrument for combating discrimina­tion. For example, while the City of Paris already takes into account certain vulnerabilities specific to women in its scor­ing system, it still does not include single parenthood as a criterion. Women at the Forefront of Housing Insecurity Following Disruptions in Their Housing Trajectories Following a separation or divorce—around 420,000 cou­ples separate every year in France—women are more dis­advantaged than men. Several factors explain this: women experience a greater drop in income after separation 13 , and compensatory payments such as alimony only partially cov­er their needs, particularly because unpaid domestic work remains unrecognized. As a result, women face greater difficulties remaining in their previous housing and are more likely to lose homeown­ership status. This has direct consequences: separations can lead to eviction procedures 14 and new forms of inadequate housing, such as overcrowded fallback accommodation or inability to maintain adequate heating in a new dwelling. In the much more severe case of domestic violence(approx­imately 272,000 people experienced domestic violence in France in 2025, according to the latest figures published by the French Ministry of the Interior), women are often forced 4  According to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies(INSEE), 9.8 million people were living below the poverty line in 2023, representing 15.4% of the French population. This was 600,000 more people than in 2022 and 1.2 million more than in 2017. 5  According to the French Inequalities Observatory( Observatoire des inégalités), in 2022, the wealthiest 10% of the population received 24% of total income but owned 48% of total wealth(based on 2024 data). 6  According to a 2018 study conducted in Paris, single fathers were slightly more likely than a single mother to receive a positive response when applying to rent accommo­dation in the private rental sector: 47% of men received a positive response, compared with 44% of women. 7  In 2021, the average annual individual income of employed women was€23,130, 24% lower than that of men(€30,470). 8  In 2020, among people in employment, women were far more likely than men to work part-time: 27.4%, compared with 8.4% of men. 9  In 2018, 83% of single-parent families were headed by a single mother. 10  The country’s independent public authority responsible for protecting rights and freedoms and combating discrimination 11  Objective 15 of the 2022–2026 Plan to Combat All Forms of Discrimination focuses on tackling discrimination in access to housing and improving access to temporary ac­commodation for disadvantaged groups. It does so by expanding and diversifying housing and accommodation options, while strengthening partnerships with local social housing providers. 12  The housing allocation scoring system consists of defining a set of criteria for assessing housing applications(based on the applicant’s personal circumstances, employ­ment situation, current housing conditions, financial resources and length of time on the waiting list) and assigning a weighting to each criterion in order to produce an overall score for every application. Each local authority is free to develop its own scoring framework. 13  Between 2014 and 2020, in the Île-de-France region, the median standard of living fell by 14.2% for women and by 6.2% for men in the year of a separation. This repre­sented an average annual loss of€3,500 for women, compared with€1,600 for men. 14  This took place against a broader backdrop of rising residential evictions, with 30,500 evictions carried out with police enforcement in 2025, notably following the adop­tion of the Kasbarian–Bergé«anti-squatting» law. Gender Inequalities in Housing Policies in France 2