From my most recent piece for the Guardian:
At the end of 2011, it stood that black women were losing more jobsduring the recovery than had been lost during the recession. It’s not hard to figure out why: as the private sector added jobs, more than 4m as the president reminded us throughout the long campaign, the public sector has steadily cut jobs. In fact, there has been a net loss of 1m public sector jobs since Obama took office – the worst three years on record for public sector job losses – as compromises with his Republican opponents have meant the slashing of funds at the federal, state, and local levels.
Not only has this meant a slower recovery, but it has also meant that those jobs that have traditionally been a means for black people, especially black women, to enter the middle class have disappeared. Around 40% of the public sector jobs lost have been in local government education, where teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, administrators, and more have seen their jobs vanish. This is field dominated by women, and has been a safe bet for black women seeking employment.
