Journey to work and job search characteristics of the urban poor

Gender differences in work trip and job search patterns have received several analytical attention in recent years. A consistent finding in the literature is that women work closer to home than men because of their lower income, greater household responsibilities, and heavier reliance on public transit. While these findings pervade the literature, there has been little analysis into the extent to which they hold in the exclusive case of the urban poor. Can poor women afford to choose between jobs on the basis of journey to work considerations, any more than poor men? Using a survey data from Edmonton, this study examines the gender differences in commuting and job search patterns of the urban poor. The findings suggest that, even among the low income population, women have shorter work trips and greater preference for part-time jobs than men because of their child care and household responsibilities. More women than men did not have enough time for their job search activities; and fewer women than men were prepared to accept job offers in all parts of the study area due to their household responsibilities. The results suggest that while males' employment problems are tied primarily to the working of the labour market, through inadequate skills and lack of good-paying jobs, females' employment problems are more explicable in terms of their role as mothers and homemakers.