Question

Please read the text below and answer the following question.

Publishers typically pay male authors slightly higher advances than female authors. They also price men's books higher, which results in higher royalty payments for male creators. Male authors are more likely than female authors to win literary awards, receive speaking invitations, and gain attention from major reviewers, all of which drive sales.

Which of the following sentences would best function as a topic sentence to unite the information above?

a. Gender differences in author pay primarily result from the fact that male authors appeals to a broader audience base.
b. Although writers do not have fixed salaries, entrenched stereotyping results in a substantial pay gap between male and female authors.
c. Authors can access a wide variety of income streams including fees for new work, royalities, speaking fees for public appearances, and more.
d. Substantial evidence suggests that female authors simply do not produce work with the same impressive visionary quality as their greatest mal peers.

Answer 1

The topic sentence 'Although writers do not have fixed salaries, entrenched stereotyping results in a substantial pay gap between male and female authors' best encapsulates the disparities and systemic issues leading to income inequality in the publishing industry.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most suitable topic sentence to unify the provided information is: Although writers do not have fixed salaries, entrenched stereotyping results in a substantial pay gap between male and female authors. This sentence encapsulates the core issues presented in the text, including the disparity in advances paid to male versus female authors, the pricing and royalty differences, the tendency for male authors to win more literary awards, and receive more speaking invitations.

These factors collectively contribute to the income inequality experienced by female authors in the publishing industry. By highlighting 'entrenched stereotyping,' the sentence also hints at broader systemic issues that extend beyond individual cases.