Women’s Pioneering Housing is a social housing provider for women. With a rich feminist history and over a century of experience, they are a leading voice for women’s housing, and actively work to highlight gender inequality in the sector. Having worked successfully with us in the past, Women’s Pioneer Housing has appointed Dot Dot Dot as their live-in security provider for a property awaiting redevelopment. We are excited to contribute to the impact Women’s Pioneer Housing has on the lives of women as we work closely in line with their mission.
The history of Women’s Pioneer Housing and who they are today
Established in the 1920s, Women’s Pioneer Housing has become a leading voice for women’s housing. Its mission today is to provide homes and services which offer a springboard to independent women to achieve their potential.
In 2021, Women’s Pioneer Housing provided 798 affordable homes to women in some of the most expensive areas of London, and 182 affordable homes to older women.
Jess Page, Director of Housing at Women’s Pioneer Housing, explains:
Jess Page
Director of Housing at Women's Pioneer Housing
The horrifying housing gap
As well as providing housing and services to their residents, Women’s Pioneer Housing is a voice for gender inequality in the housing sector. Women continue to face considerable discrimination when it comes to finding decent and affordable housing.
After conducting national research, the Women’s Budget Group* found that not a single region in England offered women affordable housing options, whether they were looking to rent or buy their own home.
Average rents in the private sector use up 43% of a woman’s median earnings, but only 28% of a man’s average salary. Men can afford to privately rent in every area of the country aside from London. For women, rent is unaffordable everywhere.
The Women’s Budget Group points out that, due to their low average earnings, this gendered housing gap is wider for women from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African backgrounds in particular.
Women’s Pioneer Housing is working to provide women with affordable housing in some of the most expensive areas of the country.
Our own history with Women’s Pioneer Housing
Dot Dot Dot has successfully worked with Women’s Pioneer Housing on two previous projects. We are incredibly excited that they have once again appointed us as a means of live-in security for their latest redevelopment project. We provide friendly guardians who live in the property to keep it secure.
Back in 2016, our guardians moved in alongside Women’s Pioneer Housing’s sheltered housing residents at Mary Flux Court. Dot Dot Dot’s guardians volunteer for good causes for 16 hours a month. This passion for making a social impact means that they are conscientious and responsible neighbours with a genuine care for building communities.
Our Mary Flux Court guardians focused a considerable amount of their volunteering hours on Women’s Pioneer Housing, running IT support sessions, gardening and social events such as knitting and film clubs for the residents.
Jess explains why Women’s Pioneer Housing decided to appoint Dot Dot Dot for their most recent redevelopment: “Women’s Pioneer Housing is redeveloping Brook House because the properties here are no longer fit for purpose. They are really small flats built between the 1920s and 1970s so we’re ready to do the redevelopment.
“As a women’s housing provider, we don’t want to have a half empty building. Safety and security is really important to our tenants particularly because they are women. So, we wanted to work with a reputable property guardianship organisation that would help to keep our building occupied, keep a sense of community, and keep our tenants feeling safe during the time we rehouse them.”
Working together to create change
As a social enterprise, it is a core part of Dot Dot Dot’s mission to create positive social change. We exist to provide a means of inexpensive housing to our guardians. We believe that relieving some of the pressure of high accommodation costs means our guardians have more time to focus on what really matters to them. Collectively, our guardians have given £4.3m to good causes since 2011.
With our focus on social impact, we are passionate about working with charities and other types of organisations that also focus on making a difference to the lives of others. Because Women’s Pioneer Housing champions the housing needs of women in a market pitted against them, we will only be housing guardians who identify as women as a way to continue to help those who face discrimination.
* Women’s Budget Group. (2022, March 8th). Spring Budget 2022: Housing and gender. https://wbg.org.uk/analysis/spring-budget-2022-housing-and-gender/
