When the Bush Administration came to power roughly seven years ago, they vigorously advocated for a housing policy that moved away from rental subsidy and towards homeownership. While in my view this plan has some substantial problems, single women in Baltimore heeded the call and represented roughly 40% of home sales in 2006.


This is good news, no?

Well it turns out that financial discrimination is a double whammy for women of color living in Baltimore. Note only does race impact financial services but the New York Times reports that women with comparable credit scores to men are 32% more likely to receive subprime loans instead of prime loans.

For a good discussion about what is happening in the debate about subprime loans in general, see Prof Warren's post.

As many readers have pointed out (thank you, by the way, for the examples), there are many ways that discrimination can result in disparate impacts for communities of color and female-headed households. As the economic downturn comes into full effects, this phenomenon will likely be exacerbated

In the midst of a mortgage crisis, women with young children are in a particularly vulnerable position. Children can often come with unexpected expenses and child care costs. While two-parent families have two potential earners to cover costs, single mothers have a thinner safety net to absorb costs.