Working Single Mothers and the Housing Problem

After divorce or loss of spouse, women with children embrace a new identity as a single mother, and they mostly face the housing problem. Single mothers are among the financially disadvantaged groups globally, thus they may face housing instability and homelessness. Türkiye is a context in which the number of single mother families are increasing. Moreover, the housing market changed rapidly in the previous years, and rental house prices increased dramatically. The current study aimed to understand white collar single mothers’ experiences as tenants, and the challenges they face in the rental housing market in Türkiye. The study adopted a phenomenological design. In depth interviews with volunteering white collar single mothers were conducted. Findings presented the multiple challenges working single mothers face as tenants (preconceptions about single mothers, invasion of privacy, patriarchal understanding, financial difficulties, limited housing alternatives, and the outcomes of housing challenges); their policy expectations from the government and the municipalities (welfare benefits; financial support from government and municipalities; temporary / permanent public housing for single mothers; and safe places for children), and the organizations (corporate awareness of working single mothers’ housing challenges) that they work for. Single mothers and their housing challenges is an under-researched topic in Türkiye. Thus, the findings of the study may contribute to governmental and managerial policy making efforts.