The best of times for some and the worst of times for others? Gender and class divisions in urban Britain today

This paper explores the mutual constitution of gender and class in urban Britain in the light of economic trends of the last 10-15 years. We examine spatialities of gender and class relations, pointing to the centrality of inequalities in post-Fordist restructuring. In this context we draw on evidence from two intensive studies, one concerned with gender and gentrification in Edinburgh and the other concerned with households in mortgage arrears in Swindon. The results highlight both similarities and differences in the gender-based practices adopted by the two sets of households. Egalitarian gender relations were closely associated with lifestyle and consumption choices available to higher income and highly mobile women. Convergent gender relations occurred under a range of different employment and household circumstances, relating principally to the presence or absence of children, responsibility for the household budget, and stress relating to housing insecurity. The research examines the material basis of these gender-based practices and cautions against attempts to evaluate general trends in gender relations. Instead, the paper argues that convergences and divergences in the experiences of women and men are inextricably bound up with deeply gendered forms of inequality that take particular spatial forms. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.