Question

Which of the following is most likely to be true if the author’s statements about gendered networks in the workplace are true?

• A. Mid-career women do not find it as easy to get access to senior leaders, who are usually male, as their male colleagues. They therefore find career progression or new opportunities easier to come by.
• B. Mid-career women find it easier to get access to senior leaders, who are usually male, as their male colleagues. They therefore find career progression or new opportunities easier to come by.
• C. Mid-career women do not find it as easy to get access to senior leaders, who are usually male, as their male colleagues. They therefore find career progression or new opportunities harder to come by.
• D. Mid-career women find it easier to get access to senior leaders, who are usually male, as their male colleagues. They therefore do not find career progression or new opportunities harder to come by.
• A. People are more hesitant to hire men from their mid 30s to their late 40s but may be more willing to hire women of the same age.
• B. People are more hesitant to hire women from their mid 30s to their late 40s but may be more willing to hire men of the same age.
• C. Women from their mid 30s to their late 40s always pursue a different career path than men of the same age and so are not really interested in promotions.
• D. Women from their mid 30s to their late 40s have a higher chance of being promoted than men of the same age.
• A. Male professors are likely to be promoted at an even rate throughout their career, while women professors would experience a lower likelihood of promotion in the mid-career stage.
• B. Since there is a wide disparity between the evaluations that male and female professors receive, the practice of relying upon such evaluations will quickly be abandoned.
• C. Male and female professors will receive promotions at a similar rate throughout the course of their career.
• D. Women professors are likely to be promoted at an even rate throughout their career, while male professors would experience a lower likelihood of promotion in the mid-career stage.
• A. Women going through menopause often quit the workforce voluntarily.
• B. Women going through menopause are more likely to be perceived negatively at the workplace and to have difficulty achieving professional success.
• C. Women going through menopause should be permitted to take a mid-career sabbatical.
• D. Women going through menopause are more likely to be perceived positively at the workplace and to achieve professional success.
• A. Several independent studies conducted in different countries have shown that women in the workplace are perceived positively and are favourably treated as they age.
• B. Several independent studies conducted in different countries have shown that women in the workplace are perceived negatively and are unfairly treated as they age.
• C. The studies mentioned in the passage have been discredited after they were published, and no reliance should be placed on them.
• D. The studies mentioned in the passage were conducted on very small sample sets and cannot be used to make general statements about the difference in perception between men and women.
• A. Women professors perceived as being ‘grandmotherly’ are regarded as being likeable and caring.
• B. Women professors perceived as being ‘grandmotherly’ are treated better by their colleagues and students.
• C. Women professors perceived as being ‘grandmotherly’ are regarded as being slow, inefficient, and outdated in their field.
• D. Women professors perceived as being ‘grandmotherly’ are regarded very highly and receive much more respect than younger women professors.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Key idea from the passage
The passage states that gendered networks in the workplace favour men, giving them greater access to senior leaders.
Women, especially in mid-career, become “cemented” in their positions with fewer networking opportunities.
Step 2: Implication for mid-career women
If men gain greater access to influential leaders, women are less likely to benefit from mentorship, sponsorship, or promotion opportunities.
This leads to career stagnation or slower progression compared to men.
Step 3: Eliminating options
(A) is internally inconsistent — it says women have less access but then claims this makes opportunities “easier to come by,” which is contradictory.
(B) and (D) incorrectly state that women have equal or better access than men.
\[ \boxed{\text{Less access to senior leaders leads to harder career progression for mid-career women.}} \]

Answer 2

Step 1: Understanding the “motherhood penalty”
The passage defines this as bias stemming from assumptions that women in mid 30s to late 40s are more focused on parenting duties and less committed to their careers.
This bias negatively affects hiring, promotions, and wages.
Step 2: Logical outcome
Employers may be less likely to hire or promote women in this age range, even if equally qualified, due to the stereotype of lower work commitment.
This is contrasted with men, who are less affected by such assumptions.
Step 3: Eliminating options
(A) reverses the bias — the penalty affects women, not men.
(C) incorrectly assumes women choose different paths by preference rather than due to bias.
(D) contradicts the concept — the penalty reduces, not increases, promotion chances.
\[ \boxed{\text{Bias leads to reduced hiring and promotion opportunities for women in mid 30s–late 40s.}} \]

Answer 3

Step 1: Lift the relevant facts from the passage
Female professors’ evaluations decline as they move from their 30s to 40s, bottom out around age 47, and then improve again by the early 60s (when they become roughly equal to men).
Male professors’ evaluations are described as remaining consistent.
Step 2: Connect evaluations \Rightarrow\ promotions (given in the stem)
If evaluations are the most important criterion, then any systematic dip in women’s evaluations during mid-career \Rightarrow\ a lower likelihood of promotion in that same window.
Men’s consistent evaluations \Rightarrow\ steady promotion prospects across the career arc.
Step 3: Option-by-option testing
(A) Mirrors the above mapping exactly: men steady; women disadvantaged in mid-career due to poorer evaluations. Matches passage \Rightarrow\ correct.
(B) Predicts abandoning evaluations. The passage never claims institutions will or should discard them; it only reports what happens if evaluations dominate. Unsupported.
(C) Says promotion rates are similar. That would require no gender gap in evaluations; contradicted by the described mid-career dip for women. False.
(D) Reverses the direction (women even; men disadvantaged). This contradicts the reported pattern.
\[ \boxed{\text{Mid-career evaluation dip for women } \Rightarrow \text{ fewer promotions then; men remain steady (A).}} \]

Answer 4

Step 1: Extract the author’s stance about menopause
The passage notes research in which attitudes toward menopausal women are negative: associated with “negative emotions, illness and ageing,” plus “hyper-scrutiny” and “scepticism.”
Net effect: perception worsens, making success harder.
Step 2: Confront the options with the stance
(B) repeats the author’s view (negative perception; success harder) \Rightarrow\ agree.
(A) is not discussed; could be true/false, but we are asked for what the author would disagree with.
(C) is a normative policy suggestion; not contradicted by the text.
(D) flips the sign to positive perception and easier success, which contradicts the passage’s evidence. \Rightarrow\ disagree.
\[ \boxed{\text{(D) contradicts the documented negative workplace perceptions during menopause.}} \]

Answer 5

Step 1: Identify the main argument to be strengthened
The passage claims: as women age, stereotypes intensify (less “warm,” “motherhood penalty,” menopause stigma) \Rightarrow\ worse evaluations and outcomes.
Step 2: What kind of evidence strengthens this?
Convergent, independent, cross-country evidence showing the same negative pattern (ageing women perceived worse) boosts credibility and generalisability.
Step 3: Option appraisal
(B) provides exactly that convergence \Rightarrow\ strong strengthening.
(A) shows the opposite direction (positive with age) \Rightarrow\ weakens.
(C) and (D) attack the studies’ validity/sample size \Rightarrow\ undermine, not strengthen.
\[ \boxed{\text{Independent cross-national confirmation of negative age effects (B) strengthens the claim.}} \]

Answer 6

Step 1: Restate Kray’s claim precisely
After about age 47, stereotypes shift: women’s ratings recover and may benefit from
“grandmotherly” perceptions (warmth/likeability), bringing them on par with men by the early 60s. Step 2: What would weaken it?
Evidence that the grandmotherly stereotype is negative for competence/status (e.g., seen as slow/outdated) \Rightarrow\ undermines the proposed benefit and equalisation.
Step 3: Evaluate choices
(C) gives exactly this negative competence reading \Rightarrow\ strongly weakens.
(A), (B), (D) all portray positive warmth/respect/treatment \Rightarrow\ they support or strengthen Kray’s view rather than weaken it.
\[ \boxed{\text{If “grandmotherly” maps to incompetence (C), Kray’s positive-benefit claim collapses.}} \]