Women's Mortgage Industry Network Launches Initiative To Increase Number of Single Women Homeowners

WASHINGTON – The board of directors of the Women's Mortgage Industry Network (WMIN), a national organization made up of leading women from several of the largest mortgage companies in the U.S., has released an action plan to address the substantial gap in the homeownership rate of single women with children and that of single men with children. WMIN, sponsored by Freddie Mac, was formed last year to provide forums for dialogue, networking and relationship building among women in the mortgage industry. According to WMIN, a 2001 survey of consumer finances released by the Federal Reserve Board showed that only 45% of single women with children are homeowners. Sixty-nine percent of single men with children own their own home. As part of its strategy, WMIN plans to engage the mortgage industry and non-financial service providers in a targeted education and counseling campaign it hopes will help close the gap in homeownership rates. While some of the homeownership gap can be attributed to lower wage for women compared to men, WMIN said there are other factors that affect homeownership rates, such as credit and discrimination.