Women’s Family Arrangements and the Pursuit of Property Ownership.

Based on a sociological study of women working in agricultural production systems and food chains in Morocco, we analyze how housing-based wealth accumulation affects the reconfiguration of traditional gender roles within families. Indeed, the integration of women into the agricultural labor markets has provided them with access to seasonal and irregular income, yet this income remains unequal compared to men’s. Despite this disparity, women actively contribute to the household economy and, more importantly, assert their agency through property ownership. In this respect, this paper examines the intersection of work stability, wage income, and property acquisition while highlighting the dynamics of housing ownership and inequalities. Our findings reveal that despite the instability of their work, women’s economic contribution has led to the creation of new arrangements in which they become the primary income earners while securing access to real estate or land ownership. Engaging in microcredit, informal financial practices, mutual tontines or savings are, among others, common strategies for acquiring property. Through productive accumulation, women gain decision-making and negotiating power, which can potentially challenge the embedded gendered disparities in access to housing and financial autonomy.