well, females using their babies as meatshields is one good reason to keep them out of the militarry, that's where i start to discriminate my dwarves based on genres
ITYM helping their babies advance their Wrestling skill.
Though an arguement for Gender differences is specifically so that the game can actually have an impact when females step out of their roles to become heros and leaders. When they are all equal it is meaningless to see a female warrior or female leader or a Order of Warrior Women, their gender is doesn't matter.
Though on that subject I fully support Civilisations gaining preferences, restrictions, and privilages to specific genders. I don't mind Sexism in my fantasy world.
Agreed, this is an interesting and worthwhile storytelling element (increasingly, I've been thinking of DF as a new form of storytelling). I think gender ethics would be an appropriate addition to the other ethics concepts in the game, and they could be used in the same way. For example, a matriarchal culture might neighbor a culture that subjugates women, and this could lead to diplomatic conflict and ultimately war.
Just mind that it should be procedurally generated. If there's a reason for it, it should fall out based on that.
If the females of Mantisoid Betas are stronger, then they become the warrior caste, perhaps. *shrug*
To me that seems a little more restrictive than necessary. Caste discrimination can result from historical, not just physical, causes. Discrimination against African-Americans in the United States, for example, is a lot more tied to the history of exploitation, slavery, conquest, and cultural divergence between our African and European forebears than it is to physical differences between races. The whole idea that discrimination is unfair is predicated on the fact that it ascribes to individuals traits which are *not* necessarily true.
So while a physical basis should be a possible influence on a culture's gender ethics, it should not be the only one.
Maybe we should have war crimes trials.
That's not 14th century technology.