SAT Question ac9a3a26: Text Structure And Purpose answer and explanation

English - Text Structure And Purpose - Function Of Underlined Portion
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According to historian Vicki L. Ruiz, Mexican American women made crucial contributions to the labor movement during World War II. At the time, food processing companies entered into contracts to supply United States armed forces with canned goods. Increased production quotas conferred greater bargaining power on the companies’ employees, many of whom were Mexican American women: employees insisted on more favorable benefits, and employers, who were anxious to fulfill the contracts, complied. Thus, labor activism became a platform for Mexican American women to assert their agency.
93
Difficulty:Hard
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?