Final answer:
The gender status of women is influenced by their society's adaptive strategy, labor roles, and descent system, with more equality often found in societies where women's labor contributions to subsistence are significant. To reduce gender stratification, policies for equal opportunity, closing the pay gap, and increasing political representation are imperative. Differentiating sex from gender is key for crafting informed and effective social policies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The gender status of women in society is significantly impacted by various factors including their societal adaptive strategy, labor roles, and the descent system in place. In societies that rely on hunting and gathering, for example, gender roles tend to be less strictly defined with women's contributions to subsistence valued and often leading to greater equality. Conversely, in agricultural and industrial societies, there is often a sharper division of public and private spheres resulting in women being consigned to domestic roles and thereby obtaining less societal power.
To lessen the effects of gender stratification in the workplace, policies promoting equal opportunities and addressing the pay gap are essential. Moreover, encouraging diverse representation in political roles strengthens society's understanding of gender as a spectrum rather than a binary. All members of society must actively work towards creating environments where diverse labor roles are valued and assigned without gender bias.
Sociologists emphasize the importance of differentiating between sex and gender to understand social constructs better and to advocate for policies that address the specific needs and experiences of women and men. Lastly, understanding gender from various sociological perspectives aids in recognizing how systemic structures, like descent, influence and sometimes limit the power and resources accessible to different genders.