Austerity in America: gender and community consequences of restructuring the public sector

Abstract

One in three jobs is generated by the public sector and requires workers with advanced schooling. Since the 1970s, private sector wages for men have stagnated while their educational attainment rates have slumped. Women now fill the gap. Whether married or single, they are first seeking education and then entering the workforce. Comprising over 50% of public sector employment, women’s numbers increase when healthcare and education are taken into account. A new era of austerity will negatively affect US communities and families and particularly women, as the public sector contracts in line with reduced tax revenues and rising structural debt levels.