Sentence Correction

Here, we have a comparison structure:
Unlike X, Y...

When we have this structure, we need to make sure that our X and Y elements are comparable.

In this sentence, our "X" element is:
Unlike men of science

We want to compare men to women, not to problems, handicaps, etc.
Unlike men..., women....
is the only correct comparison, so E is the correct answer.

Unlike X, Y is a very common structure on the GMAT. For more, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-use-of-u ... tml#539972

I see your confusion, and I've amended the above post. Yes, people can be compared to counterparts, as in "like their male counterparts, women scientists..."

The issue in the original sentence is with pronoun usage. In "like their male counterparts, women scientists..." the pronoun "their" replaces the subject "women." When there is a pronoun in an opening modifier, it should replace the subject of the clause after it.

If we say "unlike men of science, their female counterparts..." then the pronoun in the subject phrase is referring to a noun in a modifier (that itself is modifying that same subject phrase). It is more direct and logical to have the subject be a direct noun. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

Like their owners, pets have distinct personalities. --> Direct and clear. The pronoun in the modifier refers to the subject, and the independent clause could stand on its own.

Like human owners, their pets have distinct personalities. --> Awkward. The independent clause contains a pronoun replacing something in the modifier, and could thus not stand on its own.

Does that help to clarify?