GRE Reading Comprehension
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Source: 1997
Allen and Wolkowitz's research challenges the common claim that homework-waged labor performed at home for a company-is primarily a response to women workers' needs and preferences. By focusing on a limited geographical area in order to gather in-depth information, the authors have avoided the methodological pitfalls that have plagued earlier research on homework. Their findings disprove accepted notions about homeworkers: that they are unqualified for other jobs and that they use homework as a short-term strategy for dealing with child care. The authors conclude that the persistence of homework cannot be explained by appeal to such notions, for, in fact, homeworkers do not differ sharply from other employed women. Most homeworkers would prefer to work outside the home but are constrained from doing so by lack of opportunity. In fact, homework is driven by employers' desires to minimize fixed costs: homeworkers receive no benefits and are paid less than regular employees.
Allen and Wolkowitz's research suggests that each of the following is true of most homeworkers EXCEPT:
- A They do not necessarily resort to homework as a strategy for dealing with child care.
- B Their family situations are not unlike those of other employed women.
- C They are as well qualified as women who work outside the home.
- D They perform professional-level duties rather than manual tasks or piecework.
- E They do not prefer homework to employment outside the home.