Final answer:
Historical gender roles can account for women's high or low status.
Step-by-step explanation:
One reason that can account for women's high or low status is historical gender roles. In societies where women have strong and direct contributions to subsistence, such as in gatherer-hunter societies where women's gathering activities provide the majority of calories in the overall diet, women tend to enjoy greater social status and equality with men. On the other hand, in agricultural and industrial societies where women are relegated to the home as housekeepers and mothers, they are more subordinate to men and not considered equal actors in sociocultural activities.