Demographic Structure: Age, Gender, and Life Course (9B) Practice Test

A public health team applies a life course perspective to understand how becoming a caregiver for an aging parent affects adults’ social participation. Survey respondents who recently began caregiving report reduced leisure time with friends and increased interaction with healthcare institutions. Effects are stronger for respondents who also have young children at home. Which outcome is most consistent with the life course perspective on this transition?

An organizational sociology team is studying changing gender roles in a technology firm that recently implemented a hybrid-work policy and standardized promotion rubrics. The team is interested in how gendered expectations about caregiving and availability may influence supervisors’ evaluations, even when formal criteria are the same. The sample includes men and women across early career (ages 22–30) and mid-career (ages 31–45).

Based on a gender roles framework, how might these workplace changes influence supervisors’ perceptions of employees’ commitment?