Matrifocality vs Matriarchy

Matrifocality [ ]

A matrifocal family structure is one where mothers head families and fathers play a less important role in the home and in bringing up children.

Matriarchy [ ˈmeɪ triˌɑr ki ]

Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, definitions specific to the disciplines of anthropology and feminism differ in some respects.

• a family, society, community, or state governed by women.
• a form of social organization in which the mother is head of the family, and in which descent is reckoned in the female line, the children belonging to the mother's clan; matriarchal system.
• a form of social organization in which a female is head of the family or society, and descent and kinship are traced through the female line
• any society dominated by women