CAT 2021 Slot 3 · VARC · Question 2

CAT 2021 Slot 3 previous year question on Odd One Out, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Odd One OutVerbal AbilityType in the answer (TITA)Medium

Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:

1. A typical example is Wikipedia, where the overwhelming majority of contributors are male and so the available content is skewed to reflect their interests.

2. Without diversity of thought and representation, society is left with a distorted picture of future options, which are likely to result in augmenting existing inequalities.

3. Gross gender inequality in the technology sector is problematic, not only for the industry-wide marginalisation of women, but because technology designs embody the values of their makers.

4. While redressing unequal representation in the workplace is a step in the right direction, broader social change is needed to address the structural inequalities embedded within the current organisation of work and employment.

5. If technology merely reflects the perspectives of the male stereotype, then new technologies are unlikely to accommodate the diverse social contexts within which they operate.

Answer & solution

Answer: 4

Four sentences argue that a male-dominated technology sector produces skewed technology:

Sentence 3 says gender inequality in tech matters because designs embody their makers' values.
Sentence 5 says technology reflecting only the male perspective will not fit diverse social contexts.
Sentence 1 gives Wikipedia as an example.
Sentence 2 concludes that without diversity, society is left with a distorted picture that worsens inequality.

The order 3-5-1-2 is complete.

Sentence 4 moves to a different topic – workplace representation and broader social change in the organisation of work and employment. It is about labour structures, not about how technology reflects its makers.

Shortcut: the paragraph's thread is 'makers' values → technology'. Sentence 4 is the one sentence that drops technology.

Hence, the answer is 4.

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