word choice - What exacty does ゆえ mean, and how does it fit this JLPT question?

I have this question in my JLPT textbook:

男女{だんじょ}平等{びょうどう}といっても、女性{じょせい}＿＿＿の差別{さべつ}はまだ残{のこ}っている。

A ゆえ　B たる　C なり　D こそ

The book says the answer is A, which is weird to me because I thought ゆえ was kind of like "ergo", or "as a result from". If you say 女性{じょせい}ゆえ, it seems to me like one is saying that somehow the 差別{さべつ} is because of women.

So I must have ゆえ wrong. What exactly does it mean?

Answer

故{ゆえ} appears to mean many different things depending on the way it's used, but the main definition seems to be "reason".

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  ゆえの: "by reason of (being)", "due to (being)" or "because of (being)".

  Whether to add or omit "being" can only be determined by context:

  
  

  
  

  女性ゆえの差別
  "discrimination by reason of being a woman."

  有名人ゆえの苦労
  "hardships by reason of being a famous person."

  熟練ゆえの効率の良さ
  "efficiency by reason of skill."

  
  

  
  



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  X（が）ゆえに: "for the reason of X" or "because of X":

  
  

  
  

  信念を貫くがゆえに拷問を受ける
  "be tortured for the reason of one's faith"

  
  

  
  


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  （それ）ゆえに at the start of a sentence etc: "for that reason", "therefore" or "thus":

  
  

  
  
  

  故に商品の質は、信頼そのものになる
  "for that reason, product quality is consumer confidence."

  
  

  
  

According to Daijisen, it can also mean "of splendid history" when written as 故ある人 and 故ある家 etc, "taste/atmosphere", "relation/affinity" and "break-down/accident".