The table below provides details regarding the number of men and women working at five distinct corporations (V, W, X, Y, and Z), along with the proportion of total personnel (men + women) who received a promotion at each corporation. Review the dataset to answer the question that follows.

Corporation	Men	Women	% of personnel promoted
V	400	350	40%
W	260	100	80%
X	340	410	60%
Y	200	300	80%
Z	240	360	50%

Note: The total staff size at any corporation is the sum of the men and women working there.

If 21% of the promoted staff at Z are over 50 years of age, then the promoted staff at Z who are 50 years old or younger are what percent less than the combined number of men employed at W and Z?

The correct answer is 52.6%.

Let us break down the solution step-by-step using the data provided in the table:

Step 1: Calculate the total number of personnel at Corporation Z and Corporation W.

From the table, for Corporation Z:

Number of Men at Z = 240

Number of Women at Z = 360

Total personnel at Z = 240 + 360 = 600

For Corporation W:

Number of Men at W = 260

Step 2: Calculate the number of promoted staff at Corporation Z.

The table indicates that 50% of the personnel at Corporation Z received a promotion.

Promoted staff at Z = 50% of 600

$\text{Promoted staff at Z}=\frac{50}{100}\times 600=300$

Step 3: Calculate the number of promoted staff at Z who are 50 years old or younger.

It is given that 21% of the promoted staff at Z are over 50 years of age. Therefore, the percentage of promoted staff at Z who are 50 years old or younger is:

100% - 21% = 79%

Number of promoted staff at Z aged 50 or younger = 79% of 300

$\text{Number aged 50 or younger}=\frac{79}{100}\times 300=237$

Step 4: Calculate the combined number of men employed at W and Z.

Combined men at W and Z = Men at W + Men at Z

Combined men at W and Z = 260 + 240 = 500

Step 5: Calculate the percentage difference.

We need to find what percent 237 is less than 500.

Difference = 500 - 237 = 263

$\text{Percentage less}=\left(\frac{500-237}{500}\right)\times 100=\frac{263}{500}\times 100=\frac{263}{5}\%=52.6\%$

Thus, the promoted staff at Z who are 50 years old or younger are 52.6% less than the combined number of men employed at W and Z.