Question

1. Which of the following are TRUE regarding US poverty trends?

a. All of the above are true

b. African American children are 3 times more likely to live in poverty than white children

c. Transgender individuals are 2 times as likely to live in poverty than the general population

d. US Census date indicate that the US poverty rate is decreasing in the last few years

2. Which country has the smallest percentage of women in government leadership positions including National Parliament, House, and Senate seats?  

a. USA

b. Cuba

c. Rwanda

d. South Africa

3. The Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in the US in ________:

a. The ERA has never passed in the US

b. 1977

c. 1982

d. 1995

4. The World Economic Forum compares the 'gender gap', which is the relative position of women and men in economies around the world using educational, political, and health measures. The US is expected to close the gender gap, meaning that women and men would be more or less economically equal, in ______ years.  

a. 60

b. 20

c. 25

d. 50

Answer 1

Question No 1

A. All of the above are true

Which of the following are TRUE regarding US poverty trends?

• African American children are 3 times more likely to live in poverty than white children
• Transgender individuals are 2 times as likely to live in poverty than the general population
• US Census data indicate that the US poverty rate is decreasing in the last few years

All the points mentioned above are true.

Explanation

In 32 states, the percentage of black children in poverty was at least twice as high as among non-Hispanic white children, according to 2017 data recently released from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The survey reveals widespread poverty and other difficulties facing the transgender community. People who are transgender are twice as likely to be living in poverty as the general U.S. population, with 29 percent of the respondents indicating that they were living in poverty in 2015, compared to the overall rate of 14 percent in the U.S. For transgender people of color, the statistics were even worse.

The official poverty rate in 2018 was 11.8 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from 12.3 percent in 2017. This is the fourth consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 3.0 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 11.8 percent.

Question No 2

A. USA

Which country has the smallest percentage of women in government leadership positions including National Parliament, House, and Senate seats?

The top 10 countries with the greatest representation of women in national parliaments are Rwanda, Cuba, Bolivia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sweden, Grenada, Andorra, South Africa.

Rwanda, Cuba, and South Africa, where female representation rates are the highest as compared to USA.

United States

Although the number of women in government in the US has grown, they still hold less than 25% of government positions nationwide. In the 115th Congress, 107 (78D, 29R) women hold seats in the United States Congress, comprising 20.0% of the 535 members; 23 women (23%) serve in the U.S. Senate, and 84 women (19.3%) serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

RANK	COUNTRY	LOWER or SINGLE HOUSE	UPPER HOUSE or SENATE
1	RWANDA	61.25%	38.46%
2	CUBA	53.22%	No Upper House
10	SOUTH AFRICA	46.35%	38.89%
77	USA	25%	23.6%

Note - Figures reflect information as of January 1, 2020.

Question No 3

A. The ERA has never passed in the US

The Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in the US in ________:

Note : The Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in the US on January 15, 2020

As there is no such option, we can consider that the question is made before the date 2020 and we can stick to the option A ie, The ERA has never passed in the US.

Explanation

The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress on March 22, 1972 and sent to the states for ratification. In order to be added to the Constitution, it needed approval by legislatures in three-fourths (38) of the 50 states.

By 1977, the legislatures of 35 states had approved the amendment. In 1978, Congress voted to extend the original March 1979 deadline to June 30, 1982. However, no additional states voted yes before that date, and the ERA fell three states short of ratification.

The 15 states that did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment before the 1982 deadline were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

Since formulation of the "three-state strategy" for ratification in 1994, ERA bills have been introduced in subsequent years in one or more legislative sessions in ten of the unratified states (Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia).

Between 1995 and 2016, ERA ratification bills were released from committee in some states and were passed by one but not both houses of the legislature in two of them. In Illinois, the House but not the Senate passed an ERA ratification bill in 2003, while the Senate but not the House did so in 2014. In five of the six years between 2011 and 2016, the Virginia Senate passed a resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, but the House of Delegates never released a companion bill from committee for a full vote on the House floor.

On March 22, 2017, 45 years to the day after Congress passed the ERA, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify it. On May 30, 2018, Illinois became the 37th state. And, in a historic vote to become the 38th state to ratify, the state of Virginia voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on January 15, 2020.

Question No 4

A. 60

The World Economic Forum compares the 'gender gap', which is the relative position of women and men in economies around the world using educational, political, and health measures. The US is expected to close the gender gap, meaning that women and men would be more or less economically equal, in 60 years.

The United States is 53rd this year, a fall of two places. The world’s second-largest economy, China, is down three to 106th.         

The Latin America and the Caribbean region has closed 72.1% of its gender gap so far, progressing 1 percentage points since last year. At this rate it will take 59 years to close the gender gap.

The North America region regroups the United States (72.4%, 53rd) and Canada (77.2%, 19th). Both countries’ performances are stalling, especially in terms of economic participation and opportunity. At this rate it will take 151 years to close the gap.