Historians of womens labor in the United States at first largely

Question

Historians of women’s labor in the United States at first largely disregarded the story of female service workers — women earning wages in occupations such as salesclerk, domestic servant, and office secretary. These historians focused instead on factory work, primarily because it seemed so different from traditional, unpaid “women’s work” in the home, and because the underlying economic forces of industrialism were presumed to be gender-blind and hence emancipatory in effect. Unfortunately, emancipation has been less profound than expected, for not even industrial wage labor has escaped continued sex segregation in the workplace.

To explain this  unfinished revolution  in the status of women, historians have recently begun to emphasize the way a prevailing definition of femininity often determines the kinds of work allocated to women, even when such allocation is inappropriate to new conditions. For instance, early textile-mill entrepreneurs in justifying women’s employment in wage labor, made much of the assumption that women were by nature skillful at detailed tasks and patient in carrying out repetitive chores; the mill owners thus imported into the new industrial order hoary stereotypes associated with the homemaking activities they presumed to have been the purview of women. Because women accepted the more unattractive new industrial tasks more readily than did men, such jobs came to be regarded as female jobs. And employers, who assumed that women’s “real” aspirations were for marriage and family life, declined to pay women wages commensurate with those of men. Thus many lower-skilled, lower-paid, less secure jobs came to be perceived as ‘female.’

More remarkable than the origin has been the persistence of such sex segregation in twentieth-century industry. Once an occupation came to be perceived as ‘female,’ employers showed surprisingly little interest in changing that perception, even when higher profits beckoned. And despite the urgent need of the United States during the Second World War to mobilize its human resources fully, job segregation by sex characterized even the most important war industries. Moreover, once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master.   1 
 1. According to the passage, job segregation by sex in the United States was

(A) greatly diminished by labor mobilization during the Second World War 
(B) perpetuated by those textile-mill owners who argued in favor of women’s employment in wage labor 
(C) one means by which women achieved greater job security 
(D) reluctantly challenged by employers except when the economic advantages were obvious 
(E) a constant source of labor unrest in the young textile industry

2 
 2. According to the passage, historians of women’s labor focused on factory work as a more promising area of research than service-sector work because factory work

(A) involved the payment of higher wages 
(B) required skill in detailed tasks 
(C) was assumed to be less characterized by sex segregation 
(D) was more readily accepted by women than by men 
(E) fitted the economic dynamic of industrialism better

3 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that early historians of women’s labor in the United States paid little attention to women’s employment in the service sector of the economy because

(A) the extreme variety of these occupations made it very difficult to assemble meaningful statistics about them 
(B) fewer women found employment in the service sector than in factory work 
(C) the wages paid to workers in the service sector were much lower than those paid in the industrial sector 
(D) women’s employment in the service sector tended to be much more short-term than in factory work 
(E) employment in the service sector seemed to have much in common with the unpaid work associated with homemaking

4 
 4. The passage supports which of the following statements about the early mill owners mentioned in the second paragraph?

(A) They hoped that by creating relatively unattractive “female” jobs they would discourage women from losing interest in marriage and family life. 
(B) They sought to increase the size of the available labor force as a means to keep men’s to keep men’s wages low. 
(C) They argued that women were inherently suited to do well in particular kinds of factory work. 
(D) They thought that factory work bettered the condition of women by emancipating them from dependence on income earned by men. 
(E) They felt guilty about disturbing the traditional division of labor in family.

5 
 5. It can be inferred from the passage that the “ unfinished revolution ” the author mentions in line 13 refers to the

(A) entry of women into the industrial labor market 
(B) recognition that work done by women as homemakers should be compensated at rates comparable to those prevailing in the service sector of the economy 
(C) development of a new definition of femininity unrelated to the economic forces of industrialism
(D) introduction of equal pay for equal work in all professions 
(E) emancipation of women wage earners from gender-determined job allocation

6 
 6. The passage supports which of the following statements about hiring policies in the United States?

(A) After a crisis many formerly “male” jobs are reclassified as “female” jobs. 
(B) Industrial employers generally prefer to hire women with previous experience as homemakers.
(C) Post-Second World War hiring policies caused women to lose many of their wartime gains in employment opportunity. 
(D) Even war industries during the Second World War were reluctant to hire women for factory work. 
(E) The service sector of the economy has proved more nearly gender-blind in its hiring policies than has the manufacturing sector.

7 
 7. Which of the following words best expresses the opinion of the author of the passage concerning the notion that women are more skillful than men in carrying out detailed tasks?

(A) “patient” (line 21) 
(B) “repetitive” (line 21) 
(C) “hoary” (line 22) 
(D) “homemaking” (line 23) 
(E) “purview” (line 24)

8 
 8. Which of the following best describes the relationship of the final paragraph to the passage as a whole?

(A) The central idea is reinforced by the citation of evidence drawn from twentieth-century history. 
(B) The central idea is restated in such a way as to form a transition to a new topic for discussion. 
(C) The central idea is restated and juxtaposed with evidence that might appear to contradict it. 
(D) A partial exception to the generalizations of the central idea is dismissed as unimportant. 
(E) Recent history is cited to suggest that the central idea’s validity is gradually diminishing.

AdityaHongunti · Accepted Answer

7. Which of the following words best expresses the opinion of the author of the passage concerning the notion that women are more skillful than men in carrying out detailed tasks?

(A) “patient” (line 21) 
(B) “repetitive” (line 21) 
(C) “hoary” (line 22) 
(D) “homemaking” (line 23) 
(E) “purview” (line 24)

we are asked for the word that expresses AUTHOR'S opinion.
A and B are assumptions or opinions of the MILL OWNERS .
D and E are again perspectives of MILL OWNERS. 
author starts the sentence by saying that mill owners  introduced a hoary stereotype (author's point of view) of...( mill owner's perspective)
read the lines carefully and understand the role of each word and just as you do in SC , try to find the subject of the sentece or the doer. You will get the answer. Remember this while solving opinion type questions.
hope this helps.

blueseas · Answer

6. The passage supports which of the following statements about hiring policies in the United States?

(C) Post-Second World War hiring policies caused women to lose many of their wartime gains in employment opportunity. 
(D) Even war industries during the Second World War were reluctant to hire women for  factory work.

last paragraph:
More remarkable than the origin has been the persistence of such sex segregation in twentieth-century industry. Once an occupation came to be perceived as ‘female,’ employers showed surprisingly little interest in changing that perception, even when higher profits beckoned. And  despite the urgent need of the United States during the Second World War to mobilize its human resources fully, job segregation by sex characterized even the most important war industries. Moreover, once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master.

in this para it is told that ...there was requirement for workers in war industries...but still there was job segragation by sex....NOWHERE IT WRITTEN REGARDING FACTORY WORK...so we cant infer specially for the factory work....

for option C last line clearly supports:
once the war ended, employers quickly  returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to ===>means after war...male jobs was given back to men..hence caused women to lose many of their wartime gains in employment opportunity.(women was doing the male jobs...during the war..and that was the gain for women...which they lost post war.)

hope it helps

sudh · Answer

We have to consider three sentences to answer the first question

... For instance, early textile-mill entrepreneurs in justifying women’s employment in wage labor, made much of the assumption that women were by nature skillful at detailed tasks and patient in carrying out repetitive chores... ... ... And employers, who assumed that women’s “real” aspirations were for marriage and family life, declined to pay women wages commensurate with those of men... ... ... More remarkable than the origin has been the  persistence  of such sex segregation in twentieth-century industry

1. According to the passage, job segregation by sex in the United States was 
(B) perpetuated by those textile-mill owners who argued in favor of women’s employment in wage labor 
The word  persistence  is equivalent to  perpetuated .

Obviously the other answer choices are not even close to answering the first question
(A) greatly demyelinated by labor mobilization during the Second World War
contrary to the passage suggests - despite the urgent need of the United States during the Second World War to mobilize its human resources fully, job segregation by sex characterized even the most important war industries

(C) one means by which women achieved greater job security
contrary to the passage suggests - many lower-skilled, lower-paid, less secure jobs came to be perceived as ‘female.'

(D) reluctantly challenged by employers except when the economic advantages were obvious
contrary to the passage suggests - employers showed surprisingly little interest in changing that perception, even when higher profits beckoned

(E) a constant source of labor unrest in the young textile industry
there is no mention of labor unrest. In fact women accepted all the low-paying, less secured jobs in the textile industry.

saiesta · Answer

7 out of 8 correct. I got number 7 incorrect.

1. (B)
 "The mill owners thus imported into the new industrial order hoary stereotypes associated with the homemaking activities they presumed to have been the purview of women"

2. (C)
 "These historians focused instead on factory work, primarily because it seemed so different from traditional, unpaid “women’s work” in the home, and because the underlying economic forces of industrialism were presumed to be gender-blind and hence emancipatory in effect. Unfortunately, emancipation has been less profound than expected, for not even industrial wage labor has escaped continued sex segregation in the workplace."

3. (E)
 "Historians of women’s labor in the United States at first largely disregarded the story of female service workers — women earning wages in occupations such as salesclerk, domestic servant, and office secretary. These historians focused instead on factory work, primarily because it seemed so different from traditional, unpaid “women’s work” in the home, and because the underlying economic forces of industrialism were presumed to be gender-blind and hence emancipatory in effect."

4. (C)
 "The mill owners thus imported into the new industrial order hoary stereotypes associated with the homemaking activities they presumed to have been the purview of women"

5. (E)
 " Unfortunately, emancipation has been less profound than expected, for not even industrial wage labor has escaped continued sex segregation in the workplace."

6. (C)
 "Moreover, once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master."

7. I got this question incorrect

8. (A)
 Central idea: Emancipation has been less profound than expected
The last paragraph, especially the last sentence ..."Moreover, once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master."... seems to reinforce the central idea of the passage.

pikolo2510 · Answer

Hey carcass GMATNinja GMATNinja Two Can you explain for question 6 why C is correct? 6. The passage supports which of the following statements about hiring policies in the United States? (A) After a crisis many formerly “male” jobs are reclassified as “female” jobs. (B) Industrial employers generally prefer to hire women with previous experience as homemakers. (C) Post-Second World War hiring policies caused women to lose many of their wartime gains in employment opportunity. (D) Even war industries during the Second World War were reluctant to hire women for factory work. (E) The service sector of the economy has proved more nearly gender-blind in its hiring policies than has the manufacturing sector. I read through the complete thread but I am still not convinced. Below is my thought process - C says wartime gains - this is not mentioned in the passage that women lost their wartime gains. The passage just says men were returned the "men jobs" - Hence I selected D. D says that there was segregation even during war. Although D mentions factory work which is not mentioned in the passage as well but I feel this is the best choice Can you explain your thoughts here? Thanks :-)

Carcass · Answer

This is a tough question that can attack in two ways:  OR  eliminating all but C answers because are not mentioned in the passage and/or are different from what is stated I.E in the passage X >> Y and the answers says Y>>X for instance A  OR  finding right away the right one.

In the second scenariop if you look at the last two sentences of the passage you are right: clearly is not mentioned but this is an inference question

Which means actually what C is saying: a lot of male jobs that during the WWII was given to the women, back up to men once again because the primary reason was the women labor segregation was still strong.

As aside note, the passage is really difficult in its meaning, not convoluted but profound.

Regards

09173140521 · Answer

official answer Q1

The best answer is B. Lines 13-17 state that sex segregation persisted in the workplace because “a
prevailing definition of femininity” dictated the kinds of tasks women performed. The passage
then provides an example of this phenomenon by citing early textile-mill entrepreneurs who, “in
justifying women’s employment in wage labor, made much of the assumption that women were by
nature skillful at detailed tasks and patient in carrying out repetitive chores” (lines 18-21). Thus,
job segregation by sex in the United States was perpetuated by those textile-mill owners. A is
incorrect because lines 36-40 state job segregation by sex was not diminished during World War II.
Choice C is wrong because lines 30-31 state that many “female” jobs were “less secure”. Choices
D and E are not supported by the passage

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage, historians of women’s labor focused on factory work as a more promising area of research than service-sector work because factory work

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

The phrase according to the passage indicates that the answer is stated in the passage. Look at the first paragraph, which discusses historians of women’s labor. These historians disregarded service work in favor of factory work not only because factory work differed from traditional  “women’s work,”  but also because the forces of industrialism were presumed to be gender-blind.

a.  The passage does not indicate that historians studied factory workers because of higher wages.

b.  The passage gives no evidence that historians chose this research area for this reason.

c. Correct . The passage indicates that the historians chose this research area because they assumed that sex segregation was less prevalent in factory work than in service-sector work.

d.  Although the passage states that women accepted factory work more readily than did men, this difference is not cited in the passage as the reason historians focused on factory work.

e.  Factory work may have fit the dynamic of industrialism better, but this is not the reason the passage gives for the historians’ choice.

The correct answer is C.

6. The passage supports which of the following statements about hiring policies in the United States?

Difficulty Level:   600

Explanation

Review each answer choice to see if it is explicitly supported by information in the passage. The last sentence of the passage states that, once the Second World War was over, men returned to take the  “male”  jobs that women had been temporarily allowed to master. Thus, the gains women had been allowed to make during the war (despite continued job segregation) were lost to them after men returned to work.

a.  The last paragraph shows that after the Second World War, “male” jobs that had been held by women during the war were returned to men.

b.  The passage does not mention industrial employers’ preferences for women with homemaking experience.

c.  Correct. After the Second World War, women lost many employment opportunities that had been available to them during the war.

d.  The passage says that job segregation persisted during the Second World War, but it does not indicate that those industries were reluctant to hire women.

e.  No comparison is made in the passage to support this conclusion.

The correct answer is C.

Hope it helps

huongguyen · Answer

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the “ unfinished revolution ” the author mentions in line 13 refers to the
Scope:  To explain   this    unfinished revolution  in the status of women, historians have recently begun to emphasize the way a prevailing definition of femininity often determines the kinds of work allocated to women, even when such allocation is inappropriate to new conditions. 
 “this unfinished revolution” → “this” refer to sth mentioned before → trace back to: “Unfortunately,  emancipation  has been less profound than expected, for not even industrial wage labor has escaped continued sex segregation in the workplace.”

(A) entry of women into the industrial labor market
(B) recognition that work done by women as homemakers should be compensated at rates comparable to those prevailing in the service sector of the economy
(C) development of a new definition of femininity unrelated to the economic forces of industrialism
(D) introduction of equal pay for equal work in all professions
(E)  emancipation  of women wage earners from gender-determined job allocation

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

8. Which of the following best describes the relationship of the final paragraph to the passage as a whole?

Difficulty Level:   500

Explanation

Logical structure

Consider the final paragraph in the context of the whole passage to evaluate its relationship to the whole. The first two paragraphs examine job segregation in an unspecified but earlier time. The final paragraph brings the reader into the twentieth century, when, as the example drawn from the Second World War shows, job segregation persisted. Thus, the final paragraph updates and reinforces the author’s thesis about the persistence of job segregation.

a.  Correct.   The central idea that sex segregation continued in the twentieth-century workplace is reinforced with an example from the Second World War.

b.  The central idea is the persistence of job segregation, which is the only topic in the paragraph.

c.  The last paragraph supports the passage; no apparently contradictory evidence is introduced.

d.  The last paragraph supports the central idea with a twentieth-century example; no exceptions are either entertained or dismissed.

e.  Twentieth-century history is cited to support the central idea, not to show that its validity is diminishing.

The correct answer is A.

nikitathegreat · Answer

GMATNinja   karishma  - Can you explain why option D is incorrect for Question 1 ? Is the correct answer B? What does perpetuated mean here?
Also, does the last sentence = "Moreover, once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master" - mean that when it was economic advantageous women were allowed to master men jobs but otherwise they weren't allowed to do it? Also, this last sentence is contradictory to the previous sentence which says even during war time there was job segregation - And despite the urgent need of the United States during the Second World War to mobilize its human resources fully, job segregation by sex characterized even the most important war industries.

Can you explain the last para and Q1 - I am confused between Option B and D

Thanks

miag · Answer

Hi,

Yes the correct answer is B). 'Perpetuated' here means this was kept going by.. 
 D) - this actually contradicts what the passage states. Acc to the passage, "o nce an occupation came to be perceived as ‘female,’ employers showed surprisingly little interest in changing that perception, even when higher profits beckoned. " This actually implies the opposite of what option D) says that even when there was more money to be gained, they did not challenge segregation. 
 "despite the urgent need... job segregation by sex characterized even the most important war industries." - this simply means that even under immense pressure, job segregation persisted 
 "once the war ended, employers quickly returned to men most of the ‘male’ jobs that women had been permitted to master." - some women temporarily entered male jobs during war time but then returned back to previous roles after

Hope this helps!

Historians of womens labor in the United States at first largely

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Historians of womens labor in the United States at first largely

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