Abstract:
This paper examines women and housing in Kenya’s urban areas. It specifically addresses the
constraints and opportunities that, if explored, could enhance women’s chances of accessing owner-occupied
housing in the city of Nairobi. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. The questionnaires targeted
two groups of women, namely renters and owner-occupiers. A total of 90 women were interviewed, comprising
45 renters and 45 owner-occupiers. Simple descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis were performed on the
data. The findings of the study showed that women faced constraints of a financial (41.2%), institutional
(36.6%), cultural (18.9%) and occupational (3.3%) nature in their efforts to secure their own housing. The study
demonstrates that the best opportunities for women to acquire house ownership were through self-help groups,
cooperative societies, and women’s finance trusts. The study recommends that the government, NGOs, and
other stakeholders in the housing sector support and initiate programmes and activities aimed at increasing
women’s access to house ownership, especially in an urban setting such as Nairobi City where the majority of
women live in a situation of insecure housing tenancy.
