This study compares the changes in the household characteristics and income distributions of men and women in the Toronto census tracts that gentrified in the 1970s with the changes taking place across the metropolitan area. Higher-income women were gentrifiers from the beginning and lower-income men were more likely to be displaced. The factors driving gentrification are also transforming the rest of the metropolitan area, making the continuation of gentrification appear inevitable unless aggressive social housing programs are implemented to secure tenure for lower-income households and help mitigate the loss of lower priced housing in the inner city.