Final answer:
Matrilineal descent in a society does not automatically lead to gender authority for women. Leadership often remains with senior men within the matrilineal kin group, and a matrilineal system should not be confused with a matriarchy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The presence of matrilineal descent patterns in a society does not automatically confer gender authority to women. In traditional matrilineal societies, while inheritance and familial relations focus on the mother's side, and children are considered to primarily belong to their mother's kin group, it does not necessarily result in a matriarchal system where women hold the majority of power. Rather, leadership roles and decision-making responsibilities are often exercised by the senior men within the kin group. This means that a woman's brother or mother's brother (maternal uncle) may hold significant authority over family resources and discipline, as opposed to her husband.
In some of these societies, despite inheritance passing through the maternal line, power dynamics may still favor men, challenging the assumption that matrilineal systems equate to women-led governance. For example, scholars have suggested that even in societies where ancient matriarchies are theorized to have existed, these were defined not only by matrilineality but also by the dominant leadership of women and the prevalence of values tied to fertility and motherhood. Contrastingly, patrilineal societies often strong patriarchal structures, but this binary does not imply that matrilineal systems are matriarchal by default.