Housing researchers are aware of the lower homeownership rates and other housing problems of single women but there is very little research focusing on single women homeowners or the characteristics of the housing they buy. Also, since a wide body of research can be found that examines determinants of homeownership for various population groups, the importance of this study was in its focus on single women homeowners and the characteristics of their housing rather than the determinants of ownership for this group. Using data from the 1993 American Housing Survey (AHS), the study sample consisted of 639 women homeowners who were either widowed, divorced, separated, or never-married, and who did not own their previous residence. The study's purpose was to construct a profile of single women home- owners that included a description of their demographic and housing characteristics, the means by which they acquired their homes, and the changes made in their housing when they became homeowners. Additionally, this study examined which demographic and previous housing characteristics of this group were related to the housing characteristics of their present homes. Descriptive results from this study suggested that single women homeowners are primarily middle aged without young children at home, earn moderate incomes, and that the largest proportion of them live in the South and metropolitan areas. When compared to homeowners in general, single women homeowners' homes cost less and represented a higher proportion of attached and mobile home units. The results also showed that single women used low-down payment financing instruments to a lesser degree than did all homeowners. Results from statistical analyses suggested that significant relationships exist between single women homeowners' housing characteristics, and a) their demographic characteristics, b) their previous housing characteristics, and c) their reasons for moving and selecting their current homes and neighborhoods. Another key finding was that single women homeowners of varying marital status differed in their present and previous housing characteristics and their reasons for selecting the current home. The results of this study support suggestions made by other researchers that examining differences not only by gender but also by the variations in marital status will help to clarify and add to the knowledge of housing and its relevance to populations of varying social composition. / Ph. D.

Cette thèse examine le poids du genre dans la structuration de la demande scolaire à Ouagadougou. Elle traite particulièrement du rôle des femmes dans la modulation des inégalités scolaires au sein des ménages. La recherche mobilise les données du recensement de 2006, celles d’une enquête quantitative sur l’implication des pères et des mères dans la scolarisation et des entretiens semi-structurés avec des femmes chefs de ménage réalisés en 2009, afin de revisiter de façon approfondie le résultat souvent observé en Afrique subsaharienne d’une meilleure scolarisation des enfants dans les ménages féminins. L’analyse porte d’abord sur les propriétés sociologiques du statut de « femme chef de ménage » et regarde l’élément qui le légitime comme une catégorie distincte de celle des hommes chef d’un ménage et lui confère une cohésion de groupe. Elle s’intéresse ensuite à la variation de la demande scolaire selon le sexe du chef de ménage et celui des enfants en lien avec leur statut familial. Il ressort des résultats que moins que le statut de chef de ménage, les configurations familiales particulières des structures dirigées par une femme en font des environnements favorables à la scolarisation des enfants, surtout des garçons. Il apparaît également une complexité et une ambiguïté du rapport à l’école de ces ménages, qui sont plus néfastes pour la scolarisation de certaines filles, conséquence des rapports sociaux de sexe inégaux dans la société exacerbés par le besoin en main-d’œuvre domestique des familles urbaines. La thèse met ainsi en lumière les potentialités des données du recensement pour une approche sexuée des stratégies scolaires familiales en milieu urbain burkinabè. / This thesis examines the mediating role of gender in the demand for child education in Ouagadougou. It specifically addresses the influence of women in the modification of educational inequalities within households. The research utilizes census data from 2006, data from a quantitative study on the involvement of fathers and mothers in education, and semi-structures interviews with female heads of household conducted in 2009, to elaborate on results often observed in sub-Saharan Africa that children are often better educated in female-headed households. The analysis deals primarily with sociological priorities of the status of the “female head of household” and examines the element that legitimizes them as a distinct category from male heads of household, creating a cohesive group. The study focuses then on the relationship between demand for schooling and the sex of the head of household as well as, the sex of children in relation to family status. The results demonstrate that regardless the status of the head of household, particular family configurations with structures headed by women provide a conducive environment for the education of children, especially for boys. A complex and ambiguous finding also emerged in regards to the schools of these households, which proved to be more harmful to the education of some girls as a result of unequal gender relations in society exacerbated by the need for domestic labor in urban families. This thesis sheds light on the potential for census data to provide a gender-based approach to family education strategies in urban Burkina Faso.