The Big Issue: empowering homeless women through academic research?

This paper discusses academic research as a means of empowerment for people in marginalized groups, using the example of homeless women. Issues connec ted to the position of the researcher in relation to both the agencies deal ing with homeless people and the homeless women themselves are discussed. M any agencies have underlying ideologies and overt practices that reinforce hierarchical relations and certain gendered expectations. The paper conside rs the difficulties this creates when working with and presenting findings to agencies whose principles are in conflict with one's own, and also discu sses the social relations of conducting empowering doctoral research.