This article analyses the limitations of liberal democracies from the point of view of gender inequalities. The discrepancy of composition between the elected body and the whole electorate serve as the point of departure for a proposal to re-conceptualize democracy taking into account gender differences. Group representation instead of that of individuals is the first aspect analyzed considering systematic patterns of exclusion and problems related to group identities. The point is taken again in the final section of the text, where the author establishes distinctions between experience heterogeneity and the essentialization of identities and interests. The text also analyzes the balance of equality in the public sphere and subordination in the private sphere, considering the contradiction between formally equal rights and privileges to specific social groups, as well as the filters before a fairer political participation.
democracy; liberalism; gender; inequalities; differences