推荐文档列表

GRE·94-4考题-2

时间:2021-09-06 16:12:12 其它考试 我要投稿

GRE·94-4考题-(2)

 Defenders of special protective labor

GRE·94-4考题-(2)

  legislation for women often maintain

  that eliminating such laws would

  destroy the fruits of a century-long

(5) struggle for the protection of women

  workers. Even a brief examination of

  the historic practice of courts and

  employers would show that the fruit

  of such laws has been bitter: they

(10) are , in practice, more of a curse

  than a blessing.

   Sex-defined protective laws have

  often been based on stereotypical

  assumptions concerning women's needs

(15) 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

(20) 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

(25) 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

(30) women could be quite legally fired,

  refused jobs, or kept at low wage

  levels, all in the name of "protecting"

  their health. By validating such laws

  when they are challenged by lawsuits,

(35) the courts have colluded over the years

  in establishing different, less advant-

  ageous employment terms for women

  than for men, thus reducing women's

  competitiveness on the job market.

(40) 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

(45) employers to offer employee health

  insurance plans that cover all known

  human medical disabilities except

  t