Comparable worth, as a standard applied to eliminate inequities in pay

Thanks for the question, mbaprep2017!

We are looking for situations where applying the "other mandates" (ie mandates besides comparable worth "that can be applied to reduce or eliminate unjustified pay gaps between male and female workers"), would likely result in unsatisfactory outcomes for the female employees. What do we know about those "other mandates"? According to the second sentence of the third paragraph, those other mandates "have not remedied perceived pay inequities satisfactorily for the litigants in cases in which men and women hold different jobs". Thus, we are looking for situations where there is an "unjustified pay gap between male and female workers" and where the "men and women hold different jobs" because those are the situations where the other mandates are unlikely to result in an outcome satisfactory to the female employees:

Option I: Here we are comparing men and women "with comparable job experience employed in the same capacity." Because the men and women involved hold the same job, the situation does not fit our criteria; nothing in the passage tells us that applying the "other mandates" will result in unsatisfactory outcomes in situations where the men and women hold the same job.

Option II: Here we have men and women holding different jobs (the men are working outside in the cement factory and the women are working inside the office); we also have a pay gap between male and female workers ("the women are paid much less per hour"). This fits our criteria perfectly (different jobs, difference in pay between male and female workers), and it is thus unlikely that application of the "other mandates" will result in an outcome satisfactory to the female employees. (vs application of comparable worth, which would compare the values of the tasks performed in these dissimilar jobs)

Option III: Here we have men and women with the same job, same education, and same career backgrounds. As with Option I, nothing in the passage tells us that applying the "other mandates" will result in unsatisfactory outcomes in situations where the men and women hold the same job.

So only option II describes a situation where the application of the other mandates "would be unlikely to result in an outcome satisfactory to the female employees", so the answer is B.

I don't quite understand why in Option I they have the same job. It seems as they have similar jobs, but different. Dont quite get why this option is incorrect

The males and females in option I might not have the same exact job experience, but "they are employed in the same capacity," which means that they have the same role (long-distance truck drivers for a furniture company). In option I, the males and females have the same job and similar experience, but the males earn more money.

According to the passage, which of the following is true of comparable worth as a policy?
a. Comparable worth policy decisions in pay-inequity cases have often failed to satisfy the complaints
b. Comparable worth policies have been applied to both public-sector and private-sector employee pay schedules
c. Comparable worth as a policy has come to be widely criticized in the past decade.
d. Many employers have considered comparable worth as a policy but very few have actually adopted id.
e. Early implementations of comparable worth policies resulted in only transitory gains in pay equity.

In the last decade, this approach has become a critical social policy issue, as large numbers of private-sector firms and industries as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities have adopted comparable worth policies or begun to consider doing so.

Explanation: Passage mentions that Comparable worth is adopted in private as well as public (government) sectors. Hence B is the correct answer

Which of the following most accurately states the central purpose of the passage?
(A) To criticize the implementation of a new procedure
(B) To assess the significance of a change in policy
(C) To illustrate how a new standard alters procedures
(D) To explain how a new policy is applied in specific cases
(E) To summarize the changes made to date as a result of social policy

However, the question still remains: have the gains already made in pay equity under comparable worth principles been of a precedent-setting nature or are they mostly transitory
Comparable worth pay adjustments are indeed precedent-setting.
Explanation: Above sentences say that Comparable worth is a change in policy and the passage discusses the significance of Comparable Worth, hence B is the correct answer


According to the passage, comparable worth principles are different in which of the following ways from other mandates intended to reduce or eliminate pay inequities:
A) Comparable worth principles address changes in the pay schedules of male as well as female workers
B) Comparable worth principles can be applied to employees in both the public and the private sector
C) Comparable worth principles emphasize the training and skill of workers
D) Comparable worth principles require changes in the employer's resource allocation
E) Comparable worth principles can be used to quantify the value of elements of dissimilar jobs

[Comparable worth] Neither compares tasks in dissimilar jobs (that is, jobs across occupational categories) in an effort to determine whether or not what is necessary to perform these tasks-know-how, problem-solving, and accountability-can be quantified in terms of its dollar value to the employer.

Explanation: Passage mentions that Comparable worth quantifies the tasks in dissimilar jobs. Hence E is the answer


Which of the following best describes an application of the principles of comparable worth as they are described in the passage?
(A) The current pay, rates of increase, and rates of promotion for female mechanics are compared with those of male mechanics.
(B) The training, skills, and job experience of computer programmers in one division of a corporation are compared to those of programmers making more money in another division.
(C) The number of women holding top executive positions in a corporation is compared to the number of women available for promotion to those positions, and both tallies are matched to the tallies for men in the same corporation.
(D) The skills, training, and job responsibilities of the clerks in the township tax assessor's office are compared to those of the much better-paid township engineers.
(E) The working conditions of female workers in a hazardous-materials environment are reviewed and their pay schedules compared to those of all workers in similar environments across the nation.

Comparable worth, on the other hand, takes as its premise that certain tasks in dissimilar jobs may require a similar amount of training, effort, and skill; may carry similar responsibility; may be carried on in an environment having a similar impact upon the worker; and may have a similar dollar value to the employer.
Explanation: Passage clearly mentions that Comparable worth takes into account training, effort, and responsibility. Hence D is the answer Though B seems similar but there is a huge difference between job experience and job responsibilities.

I don't understand this one.

"We need an option which can compare two dissimilar jobs in types but similar in skill set used. But both the professions have different salaries that is where comparable worth is useful as a policy

Coming to options:

(D) The skills, training, and job responsibilities of the clerks in the township tax assessor's office are compared to those of the much better-paid township engineers.
Clerks are compared in skill set with engineers, but the engineers are paid more.=>PERFECT"

How does being a clerk in the assessor's office require similar skills to being an engineer? Shouldn't we be comparing two roles that require the same set of skills?

Wouldn't this be correct only if it were worded "(D) The skills, training, and job responsibilities of the clerks in the township tax assessor's office are compared to those of the clerks in the office of engineering."

Can someone help?

Alainca

For the final question - Which of the following best describes an application of the principles of comparable worth as they are described in the passage? - I think it makes sense to re-state that comparable worth "insists that the values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs can be compared". We thus need to have an answer that compares two jobs each with certain tasks. The only answer choice that does this is Answer D with a Clerk to an Engineer. Other choices fail because they compare the same job using an unrelated aspect of comparable worth (Answer A is mechanics but men to women, Answer B is programmers but one division to another division).

GMATNinjaTwo For Question 3 I chose option E, but ,in hindsight ,I realized that option E compares jobs with similar environments and not jobs that have similar impact on the workers - can we use this subtle shift in the meaning to eliminate E?

As stated in the final paragraph, comparable worth "takes as its premise that certain tasks in dissimilar jobs 1) may require a similar amount of training, effort, and skill; 2) may carry similar responsibility; 3) may be carried on in an environment having a similar impact upon the worker; and 4) may have a similar dollar value to the employer. The whole point of comparable worth is, as described in the first sentence, to compare the "values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs."

So we apply comparable worth when the jobs are dissimilar but the tasks are comparable. Yes, the environmental impact upon the worker is mentioned as possible similarity. However, the fact that two tasks are performed in similar environments does not necessarily mean that those tasks are comparable.

Comparing "all workers" who work in a hazardous-materials environment would involve comparing a wide variety of tasks. This is not the application of comparable worth described in the passage, so (E) should be eliminated.

Sure! We've already gotten into this a bit, so let's go ahead and lay it all out.


As explained earlier, comparable worth "takes as its premise that certain tasks in dissimilar jobs 1) may require a similar amount of training, effort, and skill; 2) may carry similar responsibility; 3) may be carried on in an environment having a similar impact upon the worker; and 4) may have a similar dollar value to the employer."

The whole point of comparable worth, as described in the first sentence, is to compare the "values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs." So we apply comparable worth when the jobs are dissimilar but the tasks are comparable. Let's run through our answer choices to see which one matches this application:


This choice compares female mechanics to male mechanics. These are not dissimilar jobs. Therefore, eliminate (A).


Like (A), this choice compares programmers to programmers. These are not dissimilar jobs. Therefore, eliminate (B) as well.


Choice (C) compares the number of available candidates for a range of top executive positions. This tally of men and women available for promotion doesn't involve any comparison of tasks, so it doesn't match the application of comparable worth described in the passage. So let's eliminate (C).


Choice (D) lines up with the way the author applies comparable worth almost word for word. In this case, the skills, training, and responsibilities required for one job (clerkship in the tax assessor's office) are compared to those of engineers (who are getting paid better than the clerks). We're looking for a comparison of tasks across dissimilar jobs, and this fits the bill nicely. We'll keep (D) around.


As I wrote earlier: The environmental impact upon the worker is mentioned as a possible similarity. However, the fact that two tasks are performed in similar environments does not necessarily mean that the tasks themselves are comparable. Furthermore, comparing "all workers" who work in a hazardous-materials environment would involve comparing a wide variety of tasks. This is not the application of comparable worth described in the passage, so we eliminate (E).

(D) remains the best answer choice.

I hope this helps!

As this is a detail question, the answer should be explicitly mentioned in the passage.

The correct answer to this question is "c" because “In the last decade, this approach has become a critical social policy issue, as large numbers of private-sector firms and industries as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities have adopted comparable worth policies or begun to consider doing so.”

Could you please find out option (A) "Comparable worth policy decisions in pay-inequity cases have often failed to satisfy the complaints" in the passage and post it here

To know more why "c" is the correct choice, please see https://gmatclub.com/forum/comparable-w ... l#p1105933

Hope this helps!

workout, u1983, GMATNinja, SajjadAhmad, GMATNinjaTwo, Gnpth
KyleWiddison
5. It can be inferred from the passage that application of "other mandates" (see highlighted text) would be unlikely to result in an outcome satisfactory to the female employees in which of the following situations?

I. Males employed as long-distance truck drivers for a furniture company make $3.50 more per hour than do females with comparable job experience employed in the same capacity.

II. Women working in the office of a cement company contend that their jobs are as demanding and valuable as those of the men working in the cement factory, but the women are paid much less per hour.

III. A law firm employs both male and female paralegals with the same educational and career backgrounds, but the starting salary for male paralegals is $5,000 more than for female paralegals.

(A) I only

(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and II only

(E) I and III only


Please explain.


And what does this mean?

"Neither compares tasks in dissimilar jobs (that is, jobs across occupational categories) in an effort to determine whether or not what is necessary to perform these tasks—know-how, problem-solving, and accountability—can be quantified in terms of its dollar value to the employer."

I got confused in q3 between C and E. Why is C wrong in Q3.

Q5: Please go through the post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmatprep-cha ... l#p1833662
Q3: Please go through the post: https:https://gmatclub.com/forum/comparable-worth-as-a-standard-applied-to-eliminate-inequities-in-pay-132718.html#p1374654

The link for Q3 is actually Q2

Could U please explain this?


According to the passage, comparable worth principles are different in which of the following ways from other mandates intended to reduce or eliminate pay inequities:
A) Comparable worth principles address changes in the pay schedules of male as well as female workers
B) Comparable worth principles can be applied to employees in both the public and the private sector
C) Comparable worth principles emphasize the training and skill of workers
D) Comparable worth principles require changes in the employer's resource allocation
E) Comparable worth principles can be used to quantify the value of elements of dissimilar jobs


Thank You

Hope this link will serve your purpose: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmatprep-cha ... l#p1577837

Hello experts,
Can someone please explain the answer to Q.4 ? Why is the answer not B?
Thanks in advance

KyleWiddison GMATNinja

Question #4 asks "which of the following [answer choices] best describes an application of the principles of comparable worth as they are described in the passage?"

To answer this question, let's look at what the passage says about the principles of comparable worth:

The key concept here is that the "value of certain tasks in dissimilar jobs can be compared." This differs from other standards, which only seek to eliminate unfair pay gaps between people who have similar jobs.

Let's take a look at (B):

In this answer choice, the wages and experience of computer programmers in one division are compared to the computer programmers in another division. Because these groups hold similar jobs as programmers, the principles of comparable worth are not applied in this scenario. Eliminate (B).

And here is (D):

Here, various aspects of a clerk's job are compared to those of an engineer's job. These jobs are not at all similar, so to compare them to one another, we must apply the principles of comparable worth. (D) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

Can anyone please help me with the Question 1 . Central Idea of the Passage.