Although the Industrial Union Organizations that Emerged GMAT Reading Comprehension

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Reading Passage Question

Although the industrial union organizations that emerged under the banner of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and 1940s embraced the principles of nondiscrimination and inclusion, the role of women within unions reflected the prevailing gender ideology of the period. Elizabeth Faue's study of the labor movement in Minneapolis argues that women were marginalized by union bureaucratization and by the separation of unions from the community politics from which industrial unionism had emerged. Faue stresses the importance of women's contribution to the development of unions at the community level, contributions that made women's ultimate fate within the city's labor movement all the more poignant: as unions reached the peak of their strength in the 1940s, the community base that had made their success possible and to which women's contributions were so vital became increasingly irrelevant to unions' institutional life.

In her study of CIO industrial unions from the 1930s to the 1970s, Nancy F. Gabin also acknowledges the pervasive male domination in the unions, but maintains that women workers were able to create a political space within some unions to advance their interests as women. Gabin shows that, despite the unions' tendency to marginalize women's issues, working women's demands were a constant undercurrent within the union, and she stresses the links between the unions' women activists and the wave of feminism that emerged in the 1960s.

“Although the Industrial Union Organizations that Emerged Under the Banner of the Congress” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 questions and answers. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions check the candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions

Solution and Explanation

  1. According to the passage, Faue's study and Gabin's study agree in that both
  1. attribute the inclusion of women in unions to the policies of the CIO
  2. emphasize the importance of unions at the community level
  3. argue that women played important roles in the establishment of industrial union organizations
  4. suggest that women in industrial union organizations played a subordinate role
  5. suggest that the interests of women workers were incompatible with those of unions in general

Answer: D
Explanation: In the second paragraph it states that Gabin acknowledges the pervasive male domination in the unions. But maintains that women workers were able to create a political space within some unions to advance their interests as women. Hence option D is the correct answer.

  1. Which of the following can be inferred regarding the "gender ideology" mentioned in the highlighted text?
  1. It prevented women from making significant contributions to the establishment of industrial unions.
  2. It resulted from the marginalization of women in industrial unions.
  3. It had a significant effect on the advancement of women's issues within industrial unions.
  4. Its primary tenets were nondiscrimination and inclusion.
  5. Its effects were mitigated by the growth of industrial unions.

Answer: C
Explanation
: The passage states that the community base had made their success possible. The women's contributions were so vital that they became increasingly irrelevant to unions' institutional life. Hence option C is the correct answer.

  1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
  1. presenting two views
  2. reconciling two antithetical claims
  3. assessing conflicting evidence
  4. weakening a generally accepted argument
  5. tracing the development of an ideology

Answer: A
Explanation
: Here the second paragraph doesn't present conflicting evidence but something that was missed or not covered in Faue's study. Here it can also be seen that Gabin also acknowledges the pervasive male domination in the unions. Hence option A is the correct answer.

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