For release, November 13, 2000 In an eight-year period of declining state and local government workforces in the 1990s, women�s share of this shrinking pie grew slightly, with downsizing hitting the lowest paying jobs hardest, and all groups of women except African Americans experiencing gains in the highest paying jobs. These are some of the findings in a new study from the University at Albany�s Center for Women in Government, which analyzed state by state data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission�s biennial surveys covering 1990 through 1997. (1997 was the latest year for which data were available.) Professional and protective service jobs in state and local governments increased during the covered period by 8 and 10 percent, respectively, according to the report. "Downsizing hit the lowest paying jobs hardest, affecting both women and men in those jobs," said Catherine White Berheide, a Skidmore College sociologist on sabbatical at the Center for Women and Government and editor of the report. "While this was occurring, however, the proportion of jobs increased significantly for Latina (26 percent), Asian American (26 percent) and American Indian (19 percent) women," she said. African American women showed only a modest gain (1.5 percent) in state and government workforces, while white women�s proportion actually declined 3 percent. In the professional job category, Latina women�s share showed the greatest increase of any group between 1990 and 1997, 53.7 percent. In the highest paid job category � officials and administrators � all groups of women experienced gains except African American women, who lost 5.3 percent of these leadership positions. The report includes a state by state breakout of percent of change for women in state and local government jobs by race, ethnicity and region. "To fully understand the complete pattern of job gains or losses, it�s important to see where they occurred," said Berheide. "For instance, downsizing hit the Northeast and Midwest workforces hardest, while workforces in the South and Far West regions actually grew." The report�s publication was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Center for Women in Government was founded at the University at Albany in 1978. Through research, training, teaching and networking, it aims at strengthening women�s role in public policy, advancing equity for women in the workplace, and informing policy makers on issues related to women, children and families.