It was about 400 years from the time that Israel entered Canaan and received the land that God had promised them until the first king was anointed. This period of time was known as the time of the Judges, so called because the leaders of the people were called “Judges”. During the period of the judges Israel was steeped in sin, often degraded and immoral. The Scriptures describe the moral and behavioral standards of the times as "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Now, some folks have pretty high standards anyway, but others don't.
At the time of the Ruth, the women were often treated as little more than property — a slightly higher status than the slaves, but not nearly as high as that of men.