The Diverse Role of Women in Shaping Hong Kong’s Landscape of Gentrification

Abstract

Women in different cities, in different parts of a city, or even in the same neighborhood are involved in or affected by gentrification in different ways. Given the increasing socioeconomic status of women and their changing demographic characteristics, women can be viewed as the agents in the growing service economy that are driving gentrification. However, women are also the victims who suffer most from gentrification due to the feminization of poverty, a ubiquitous global phenomenon. Women, being overrepresented among the poor, have confronted great burdens associated with physical and social upgrading. Yet this aspect of women, as victims of gentrification, has not received its due attention, particularly in China. This article explores socioeconomic changes experienced in Hong Kong’s economy between 1986 and 2006, and resulting gentrification processes. It also provides an empirical analysis into the diverse role of women in Hong Kong’s landscape of gentrification, as both agents and victims.