Final answer:
The status of women in society correlates with economic contribution, culturally defined gender roles, and intersectionality factors such as race and class. Women's status can be higher in societies where they contribute directly to subsistence, but lower in contexts with a strict public and private sphere division. Understanding gender fluidity and intersectionality is key to addressing stratification and achieving greater gender equality.
Step-by-step explanation:
The three cultural factors that seem to best correlate to female gender status in society include the economic contributions of women, gender roles defined by cultural traditions, and the impact of intersectionality on women's experiences. Among the activities and cultural institutions that determine the status of women the most are their roles in subsistence activities, the division between public and private spheres, and the stratification of these roles in major institutions.
For example, in some hunter-gatherer societies, women's work in foraging, which directly contributes to the community's sustenance, confers upon them a higher status and more equality with men. In contrast, industrial and agricultural societies that distinguish between public and private work spheres tend to relegate women to the private sphere. This division often diminishes their social status relative to men. Moreover, understanding the concept of intersectionality is essential as gender does not act independently of factors such as race, class, and ethnicity; thus affecting women's status in diverse ways.
The prevalence of transgender practices and different sexual orientations across cultures tells us that gender identity and sexual orientation are not fixed and can be fluid throughout an individual's lifetime. Societies that practice gender segregation, whether formally or informally, contribute to the creation of gendered subcultures; these subcultures reinforce different social interactions and bonding that have their own inherent functions.