Reading Comprehension

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.

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

2. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
(A) Presenting two views
(B) Reconciling two antithetical claims
(C) Assessing conflicting evidence
(D) Weakening a generally accepted argument
(E) Tracing the development of an ideology

IMO: 1. A; 2. A

I don't know why the OA of the first question is C. Does anybody can explain it to us?

russland wrote:gender ideology

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.

Nancy F. Gabin also acknowledges the pervasive male domination in the unions,

1. Which of the following can be inferred regarding the "gender ideology" mentioned in the highlighted text?
(A) It prevented women from making significant contributions to the establishment of industrial unions.
No: Author does mention that women did lot of work at community level, so that is not an issue.

(B) It resulted from the marginalization of women in industrial unions.
Of course not, a bit reverse, gender idiology might have result in marginalization.

(C) It had a significant effect on the advancement of women's issues within industrial unions.
Yes: Its a rephrasing, women coudn't got substantial involvement at higher level in unions though did a lot at community level in establishing unions, so it negatively affected their advancement. Hope now it is clear.

(D) Its primary tenets were nondiscrimination and inclusion.
No: Opposite answer, Gender idiology was based on discrimination and non-inclusion because of male dominance.

(E) Its effects were mitigated by the growth of industrial unions.
No, it clearly mentions that though women contributed quite a bit at root level at higher level they didn't got the same representation.

Though let me accept I did got lot of issue with this and similar other questions, they are one reason I did not took my exam last week as planned and tentaviely moved it forward. I think such paragraph are so dense that making sense is hard, one should consider the paragraph plus such questions ultimate tough one, I think it is not an accident that this question is the first one, where 3 minute for paragraph and 1 minute for question is nearly impossible, I think one should try to eliminate a few option and move assuming the next two questions will be reasonably ok, as is the case here.