I've been working at this company for the past several months with no issues until now. I have completed every task that has been asked of me, and have been praised on numerous occasions by management for my excellent work.

Yesterday I discovered that they were hiring new candidates for my position. I asked the guy at HR what was up, and he told me that I would be let go within the next two weeks. So at this point I asked him if it was related in any way to my job performance, and he said, "The company president thought it would be more appropriate for a woman to have a presence in the office.".

This seems like downright discrimination. I'm the sole bread winner in my house, so I'm feeling a combination of anger and anxiety right now. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do as the job market is horrid where I live.

I can't help but wonder what the backlash would be if I would have been fired for any other reason.

EDIT: Just got home. I e-mailed my boss in regards to this matter, and he pretty much fed me a bunch of BS by telling me that I am overqualified, have a greater earning potential, that he would provide an excellent reference if needed, etc. At no point in time did he give me an actual reason as to why I am being fired.

Before I left, I spoke with my friend in HR. He told me that he ONLY interviewed women in their early 20's, as requested, and my replacement will start the job next Monday. You guessed it. She's blond, slim, has minimal experience, and a recent college graduate. They are expecting me to train her, and I would be asked to leave after she felt "comfortable" with the job. The funny thing is that when I got this job, I wasn't trained at all and was expected to figure things out on my own or be called incompetent by management.

FINAL EDIT: Well, I'm glad to let you guys know that I was able to keep my job. I explained the situation to one of the members of upper level management, and he was able to convince the powers at be to let me stay. This entire situation has left a horrible taste in my mouth, and I'm planning on leave at the first opportunity I get. Maybe after a couple months of saving, I will start my own business because I'm tired of situations like this that involve me resting my financial future in the hands of a dirty old man that wants to flirt around the office. Can't these idiots hire an escort if they are so horny instead of playing games with hardworking people?

To compensate for not hiring an attractive girl in my department, they hired another one to work elsewhere. The HR guy told me that those were the instructions, and he was subtly told to focus on looks. He said that the candidate he chose was an under-qualified, part time yoga instructor that flirted throughout the interview. If I wasn't personal friends with the guy, I wouldn't believe how silly this all is. This is a company, and it's primary objective should be to make profit, not be a playground for executives.