Women's Jobs Axed By State Austerity Policies

One Sunday last May, Cherine Akbari moved into her new townhouse in sunny Oakland Park, Fla. The next day, the 27-year-old went to work doing what she loved, teaching high school history in Broward County Public Schools. On Friday morning, the faculty council presented her with a windbreaker as a token of Teacher Appreciation Week.

Later that afternoon, she was laid off after only one year on the job. And she wasn’t alone. A total of 667 first- and second-year teachers in the district were also laid off -- and 70 percent, or 467 of them, were women.

This is a nationwide scenario. At a lopsided rate, women like Akbari are losing their government jobs -- including teaching, executive administrator and child-care posts -- and finding it harder than men to find new work in the private sector.          Full Read