Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies Reading Answers
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Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies Reading Answers has 14 questions that are to be answered in 40 minutes. IELTS topic-Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies Reading Answers deals with women and technology. Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies IELTS reading question type has two kinds of questions. That is choosing the correct answer, and writing the correct answer. Candidates need to skim through the passage for the best answer. Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies Reading Answers help students to prepare for IELTS exams.They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.
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Section 1
Read the passage to answer the following questions
Educational and Professional Opportunities for Women in New Technologies Reading Answers
The principle that you don’t have a mechanic to drive a car can also be applied to Information and Communication Technologies (lCTs). Gone are the days when a computer user needed knowledge of a programming language. On one hand, this is good news for women. This is because women can now use a computer without needing computer science qualifications that gives ICTs the potential to enhance women’s education. But, our lack of ICT skills is not praiseworthy. Feminist writers for many years have argued that if more women were engineers and scientists, we might live in a very different world. (Rothschild 1982)
In a review of five countries, Millar and Jagger examined women’s employment in ICT occupations. They found a pattern of a low proportion of female entrants, a significant ‘leaking’ (Alper 1993} of those who enter to other areas of employment, and a ghetto of women in lower paid jobs. How did a new area of economic activity become gendered so quickly? An obvious answer could be that men have seen it as a desirable area and women have not.
It is often said that new industries are both ‘gender blind’ (i.e. if you are good at your work you’ll succeed whatever your gender) and that they value ‘feminine’ communication and ‘people’ skills. But recent research does not bear this out. A study of a new high-tech ICT company (Woodfield 2000) employing a highly qualified graduate,’ showed that men were given management responsibility despite an acknowledgment by the company that they had poor management skills. And there was an unwillingness to give responsibilities to women who had these skills. It seems that jobs acquire gender quite quickly in some sectors.
In the 1980s and 1990s, interesting studies were done into the ways in which men and women think about the world. They argued for the validation of diverse ways of thinking, rather than a hierarchy with a particular kind of male intellectual tradition at the apex. Turkle (1984; I996) has done similar work on the way people interact with computers. She sees computers as tools used as an extension of our identities, with significant variations in the ways that men and women use them to explore and perform their gendered identities. This subtle way of understanding our relationship with this technology, however, must go in parallel with a materialist view, which is that an underlying motivation for most ICT-based initiatives in work, education, leisure, citizenship is the economic force.
We must also differentiate between the opportunities for employment offered by ICTs and the tools they provide for education. We must beware of the inappropriate application of ICTs to a problem that would be better addressed in another way. Research into the effectiveness of ICTs as measured by student performance in Maths, suggests that for young children there is a negative relationship between classroom computer use and Maths performance. One researcher, Angrist, from MIT found when examining ICTs in the classroom that the set-up costs were obvious and the benefits much less so (Economist 2002). It could be more effective to have more teacher involvement and lower class sizes.
In 1963 Clark Kerr, the President of the University of California, coined the term ‘multiversity’, to suggest that universities were no longer based on a body of universal knowledge or a heterogeneous body of students. Higher education, professional education, and life skills education are now being delivered by a variety of different universities, colleges, and commercial companies. The distinctions between these are breaking down. Just when women are getting equal access to higher education and professional education, what constitutes higher level education and valid scholarly activity have been called into question through the creation of virtual universities. On the other hand, women are often claimed to have the most to gain from these new flexible and distributed kinds of education.
Although online education provides new opportunities for women it is also the source of new pressures. The term ‘Second Shift’ was invented to identify the work/life balance of employed women. Women In paid employment did not substitute this for their domestic work; they struggled to carry out both obligations. Kramarae sees education in the new century as the ‘Third Shift’: ‘As lifelong learning and knowledge becomes ever more important, women and men find they juggle not only the demands of work and family but also the demands of further education throughout their lives. ‘(2001)
ICTs – the internet in particular – are seen as providing global access to key educational resources. However, access to information is a useless resource if you don’t have the skills to evaluate and use it. Shade (2002) distinguishes between the feminization of the Internet, where women are targeted as consumers rather than citizens or learners and feminist uses of the Internet where women develop content that creates opportunities for women.
Digital media may also produce inflexibility for women engaged in learning. A survey of open and distance learning students (Kirkup and Prummer 1997: Kirkup 2001) demonstrated differences in the preferred learning styles of women and men. Women were uncomfortable with isolation and stated a desire for connection with others. Engagement in creating and maintaining networks and relationships is often cited as a reason why computer-mediated communication will be a ‘female’ technology. Unfortunately, however, empirical work challenges this. Li (2002), in a study of university students in the UK and China, found that male students used e-mail more frequently spent more time online and engaged in more varied activities than women students. There is now a wealth of research on the gender differences of male and female online activity, all of which demonstrate the online environment creating a gendered world operating in similar ways to the material world.
Section-2
Solutions and Explanations
Question 1-8
Look at the following people (Questions 1-8) and the list of reported findings below. Match each person with the correct finding. A- K.
List of Reported Findings
- Men and women perceive their environment differently.
- The advantages of ICTs in schools are difficult to pacify.
- Men see ICTs as an exciting new area of employment.
- Female students find working on their own unappealing.
- A greater female representation in scientific and technical posts would have enormous benefits
- Women can be seen as both passive and active users of ICTs
- Female students can benefit most from ICTs and distance learning.
- In Higher Education, men use a wider range of ICT skills than women.
- A considerable number of women give up ICT posts to work in different fields.
- The way the two genders regard computers reflects the differences in the way they develop their sense of self.
- Certain new employment sectors are soon colonized by workers of one sex.
- Rothschild
Answer: E. A greater female representation in scientific and technical posts would have enormous benefits
Supporting Sentence: Feminist writers for many years have argued that if more women were engineers and scientists, we might live in a very different world.
Keywords: we might live, very different world, Rothschild 1982
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, last two lines
Explanation: The passage explains why Rothschild claims that feminist writers have long argued that a different world might exist if there were more women engineers. As stated by Rothschild, it is obvious that more women in technical and scientific positions would be highly advantageous. The answer is therefore E.
- Alper
Answer: I. A considerable number of women give up ICT posts to work in different fields.
Supporting Sentence: of those who enter to other areas of employment,
Keywords: enter to other, areas of employment
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 3
Explanation: The second paragraph implies that Alper is stating that Millar and Jagger found a pattern of a low proportion of female entrants. This is said as they enter the other areas of employment when they reviewed women's employment in ICT occupations across five countries. Thus, it is evident that Alper was the one who stated that a sizable number of women quit their ICT jobs to work in other industries. The answer is I as a result.
- Woodfield
Answer: K. Certain new employment sectors are soon colonized by workers of one sex.
Supporting Sentence: It seems that jobs acquire gender quite quickly in some sectors.
Keywords: jobs acquire, gender
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, last line
Explanation: The passage states that despite inadequate skills, men were given management responsibilities in high-tech ICT companies that hired highly qualified graduates. Thus, it is evident that Woodfield's prediction that workers of one sex will quickly colonize some new employment sectors was correct. Therefore, K is the acceptable answer.
- Turkle
Answer: J. The way the two genders regard computers reflects the differences in the way they develop their sense of self.
Supporting Sentence: Turkle (1984; I996) has done similar work on the way people interact with computers.
Keywords: the way people, interact with computers.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 3-4
Explanation: According to the fourth paragraph, Turkle has conducted similar research on how people interact with computers. They are used as extensions of identity and as tools by both men and women in different ways to discover and perform their gendered identities. Therefore, it is evident that the differences in how the two genders develop their sense of self, as suggested by Turkle, are reflected in how they view computers. The answer is J as a result.
- Angrist
Answer: B. The advantages of ICTs in schools are difficult to pacify.
Supporting Sentence: set-up costs were obvious and the benefits much less so (Economist 2002).
Keywords: set-up costs, benefits much less
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, lines 6-7
Explanation: ICT advantages in schools are hard to convince people of, according to paragraph 5's implication from Angrist. So, B is the correct answer.
- Shade
Answer: F. Women can be seen as both passive and active users of ICTs
Supporting Sentence: women develop content that creates opportunities for women.
Keywords: women, develop content, creates opportunities
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, last line
Explanation: In the eighth paragraph, Shade appears to draw a distinction between the feminization of the internet. Here women are primarily targeted as consumers rather than as citizens, and the feminization of learning, in which women produce content that benefits women. It is therefore clear that, as Shade claimed, women can be viewed as both passive and active users of ICTs. The answer is therefore F.
- Kirkup
Answer: D. Female students find working on their own unappealing.
Supporting Sentence: Women were uncomfortable with isolation and stated a desire for connection with others.
Keywords: Women, uncomfortable with isolation
Keyword Location: Paragraph 9, lines 3-4
Explanation: According to Kirkup's research, it is implied in the last paragraph that female students find working independently unappealing. The answer is thus D.
- Li
Answer: H. In Higher Education, men use a wider range of ICT skills than women.
Supporting Sentence: male students used e-mail more frequently spent more time online and engaged in more varied activities than women students
Keywords: male students, used e-mail, engaged in more varied, than women
Keyword Location: Last paragraph, lines 8-9
Explanation: According to Li, men use a wider range of ICT skills than women in higher education, as shown in the lines from the last paragraph, so the answer is H.
Question 9-14
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
- The term ……………………..refers to a company that is equally happy to promote workers of either sex.
- It is clear that ICT developments in most fields are driven by………………………….
- The range of institutions providing high-level instruction today is known as a ……………..
- Women who are working find it hard to get their………………right.
- The way workers of both sexes now face having to fit children, work, and continued learning into their lives is called the ………………
- Women are thought to be suited to computer work as it involves developing ……….and ………………….
Question: 9
Answer: gender blind
Supporting Sentence: It is often said that new industries are both ‘gender blind’ (i.e. if you are good at your work you’ll succeed whatever your gender)
Keywords: ‘gender blind’, you’ll succeed, whatever your gender
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, first two lines
Explanation: According to the third paragraph, a company that promotes employees of either sex without discrimination is considered to be gender-blind. The answer is therefore gender-blind.
Question: 10
Answer: Economic force
Supporting Sentence: which is that an underlying motivation for most ICT-based initiatives in work, education, leisure, citizenship is the economic force.
Keywords: underlying motivation, ICT-based initiatives, economic force
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, last two lines
Explanation: The fourth paragraph states that a materialist viewpoint must coexist with a subtle understanding of our relationship with technology. This is because most ICT-based initiatives in work, education, leisure, and citizenship have economic motivations at their core. These words imply that it is obvious that economic forces drive ICT developments in the majority of fields. Consequently, an economic force is the answer.
Question: 11
Answer: multiversity
Supporting Sentence: coined the term ‘multiversity’, to suggest that universities were no longer based on a body of universal knowledge or a heterogeneous body of students
Keywords: ‘multiversity’, universities, no longer, body of universal knowledge
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, lines 2-3
Explanation: According to paragraph 6, Clark Kerr, the President of the University of California, first used the term "multiversity" in 1963. This is to imply that universities were no longer founded on a body of common knowledge or a diverse student body. These lines suggest multiversity, the term for the variety of institutions offering high-level instruction today. The answer is therefore multiversity.
Question: 12
Answer: work/life balance
Supporting Sentence: Women In paid employment did not substitute this for their domestic work; they struggled to carry out both obligations.
Keywords: Women In paid employment, struggled, carry out both obligations
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 2-3
Explanation: The term "Second Shift" was created to describe the work/life balance of employed women, as shown in the seventh paragraph. Women who worked for pay did not replace their domestic duties with this; they struggled to fulfil both. These lines indicate that it is challenging for working women to strike a healthy work/life balance. Work-life balance is the answer as a result.
Question: 13
Answer: third shift
Supporting Sentence: As lifelong learning and knowledge becomes ever more important, women and men find they juggle not only the demands of work and family but also the demands of further education throughout their lives.
Keywords: women and men, demands of further education
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 5-7
Explanation: According to paragraph 7, the third shift describes how modern workers of both sexes must juggle having children, working, and continuing their education. So, the third shift is the correct answer.
Question: 14
Answer: network and relationship
Supporting Sentence: Engagement in creating and maintaining networks and relationships is often cited as a reason why computer-mediated communication will be a ‘female’ technology
Keywords: maintaining networks and relationships, reason, computer-mediated communication, ‘female’ technology
Keyword Location: Last paragraph, lines 5-6
Explanation: Creating and maintaining networks and relationships is frequently cited as a reason why computer-mediated communication will be a "female" technology. This can be inferred according to the last paragraph. These lines suggest that because computer work involves building networks and relationships, women are thought to be well suited for it. Network and relationship are the answer as a result.
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