OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

E

The question asks you to support the proposed explanation. The author explains men's lower usage of paid family leave by speculating that, because of decreased promotion opportunities, men are now using vacation or personal leave days to take time off from work after the birth of a child. To strengthen this idea, find the choice that provides some evidence for this reasoning, either by providing direct support for the idea that men are using alternative forms of time off or by eliminating a potential alternative explanation.
(A) has no effect on the argument and is incorrect. The number of personal leave or vacation days taken is not related to how those days were used. Perhaps men used to take all their personal and vacation time for other reasons and are now using it to spend time with their newborns, in which case the argument would be strengthened. But perhaps men are using this time off in the way they always have, which would weaken the argument. There is not enough information to make this determination. (B) actually weakens the argument. If men would receive a salary increase connected to taking family leave, they would be more likely to take this form of time off rather than some other kind. (C) has no effect on the argument. The shift in social attitudes may mean men are spending more time with their children, but it doesn't affect how the men classify their hours. (D) also has no effect on the argument. The cost of benefits is not mentioned in the argument and would have no effect on men's concerns about receiving promotions. (E) is correct. If the number of children born in the last three years had gone down, that would be an alternative explanation for the decrease in the number of family days taken for the birth of a child. (E) strengthens the explanation in the argument by removing the possibility of that alternative.