>>96381522
>sex roles
>tl;dr They matter, but what matters more is where you start off in life.
Longer: We don't get many named High Lords, period. At the risk of turning this into a royal shitfight: It's never fully stated as to where women stand in the Imperium. But from what we can see in assorted novels and short stories? They're mostly based.
While women can and do rise to the top It's not terribly common. Some of it is because nobody really 'rises' to the top, they start there. The exceptions (male or female) to that prove the rule and tend to be military, mechanicus or inquisitorial. Partially due to some that could do not wanting to because they'd rather do fuck all or have babies. Cain isn't a super serious source but Moira basically sees her path to political power as 'marry, preferably up' and climbs a tree of dicks to governorship of a second world. Newer stuff doesn't go into it as much but you'll find in stuff that doesn't have stupid editorial requirements that women simply value things differently from men. Part of it is because there are certain expectations of the nobility and children even with juvenat. I guess female tech priests probably don't matter beyond a certain point. Women in the Ecclesiarchy exist, but get the hoary eye politically for not being Sisters. Maybe, that bit I'm speculating on. Basically the higher you go in the imperium the more a traditional role matters, and quixotically the less it actually matters to your prospects. Be a turbo stacyslut and bang 40 guardsman? Your dad will probably give you a stern lecture and have them killed. Hide it better. You must be seen to comply, men or women.
Historically there's lots of minor nobility who grt stupid amounts of power, like William 'My dad told the invaders to trebuchet baby me' Marshall, and even the odd peasant who became a king. In the Imperium, starting status is far more important. If you don't gain that status through combat you probably have other priorities.
