Read the following information carefully and answer the given questions.…
2021
Read the following information carefully and answer the given questions.
Assessing women’s access to equal opportunity and resources against the access that men have would be a scientific way of evaluating a nation’s commitment to the advancement of its citizens. But going by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020, released last week, questions can easily be raised about whether this government is doing the right thing by the country’s women. India has dropped four points from 2018, to take the 112th rank on the Index. The Index measures the extent of gender-based gaps on four key parameters — economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Notably, it measures gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities in countries, rather than the actual levels of the available resources and opportunities. Despite a small score improvement, India has lost four positions as some countries ranked lower than India have shown better improvement. The country has reportedly closed two-thirds of its overall gender gap, with a score of 66.8 percent, but the report notes with concern that the condition of women in large fringes of Indian society is ‘precarious’. Of significant concern is the economic gender gap, with a score of 35.4 percent, at the 149th place, among 153 countries, and down seven places since the previous edition, indicating only a third of the gap has been bridged. The participation of women in the labour force is also among the lowest in the world, and the female estimated earned income is only one-fifth of male income. An alarming statistic is India’s position (150th rank) on the very bottom of the Health and Survival subindex, determined largely by the skewed sex ratio at birth, violence, forced marriage and discrimination in access to health. It is on the educational attainment (112th rank) and political empowerment (18th rank) fronts that the relatively good news is buried.
Which of the following statements is/are not correct as per the given passage?
I. The participation of women in the labour force is lowest in the whole world.
II. In India, female income is only one-fifth of female income.
- A.
Only I
- B.
Only II
- C.
Both I and II
- D.
Neither I nor II
Attempted by 5 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In a passage-based "which statement is NOT correct" question, a statement is correct only if it matches the passage exactly. Two traps recur: (1) intensity-shift, where a qualifier such as "among the lowest" is weakened or strengthened into an absolute like "the lowest"; and (2) reference-swap, where the entity being compared (e.g. male vs female) is silently switched. Both change the meaning, so the statement no longer reflects the passage.
Apply this to the two statements:
Statement I says women's labour-force participation is "lowest in the whole world." The passage says it is "among the lowest in the world." "Among the lowest" is a relative position, not the single absolute minimum, so this is an intensity-shift mismatch and Statement I does not match the passage.
Statement II says female income is "only one-fifth of female income." The passage says the female estimated earned income is "only one-fifth of male income." Comparing female income to itself is a reference-swap (and is logically impossible), so Statement II does not match the passage.
Cross-check: both statements deviate from the passage, one by intensity and one by reference, so on a strict reading both are not correct. Some official answer keys, however, treat "among the lowest" as an acceptable paraphrase of "lowest" and mark only the clear reference-swap in Statement II as not correct. The intended key is therefore contested between "only the female/male swap is wrong" and "both are wrong," which is why this item is being routed for expert confirmation against the official answer key.