GRE Reading Comprehension

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Source: XDF

Sex-defined protective laws have often been based on stereotypical assumptions concerning women's needs and abilities, and employers have frequently used them as legal excuses for discriminating against women. After the Second World War, for example, businesses and government sought to persuade women to vacate jobs in factories, thus making room in the labor force for returning veterans. The revival or passage of state laws limiting the daily or weekly work hours of women conveniently accomplished this. Employers had only to declare that overtime hours were a necessary condition of employment or promotion in their factory, and women could be quite legally fired, refused jobs, or kept at low wage levels, all in the name of "protecting" their health. At the same time, even the most well- intentioned lawmakers, courts, and employers have often been blind to the real needs of women. The lawmakers and the courts continue to permit employers to offer employee health insurance plans that cover all known human medical disabilities except those relating to pregnancy and childbirth.

Question List: 1 2

The author places the word "protecting" in quotation marks most likely in order to suggest that

  • A she is quoting the actual wording of the laws in question
  • B the protective nature of the laws in question should not be overlooked
  • C protecting the health of workers is important to those who support protective labor laws
  • D the laws in question were really used to the detriment of women workers, despite being overtly protective in intent
  • E the health of workers is not in need of protection, even in jobs where many hours of overtime work are required

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