Business Week: Men Bearing the Brunt of Layoffs

Article here. Excerpt:

"That is not really all that surprising, because this economic crisis has been concentrated in the classic industrial sectors," says Christian Dreger, head of Macro Analysis and Forecasting at the Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). The automobile industry in particular, including the businesses that supply the main carmakers, is shedding jobs. "And those are sectors that still employ more men," Dreger says. Women tend to work more in the service sector. "And the crisis has had little or no impact there."
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However, better-paid women are also doing well, such as those working in traditionally more female spheres like education or health. The major industries like construction, manufacturing or even the financial services industry have always been more vulnerable to economic cycles and therefore suffer when the economy dips.
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"In a society where services are becoming increasingly important, women quite simply have the better jobs," says Hans Bertram, a sociologist at the Humboldt University in Berlin.'