Intersecting Identities and Inclusive Institutions: Women and a Future Transformative Politics

Abstract

This article sets out to ascertain what can be done to provide better, more substantive, representation for all women. It begins by discussing the representation of women as a group, then critically assesses various reform proposals, including the suggestions of advocates of group-based representation. Such recommendations, it is argued, tend to fall short, as they build on limited liberal democratic theories and practices. In contrast, this article makes a case for more and different kinds of democracy. What is required is a synthesis of the conventional and non-conventional, where liberal democracy is transformed by an infusion of radical democratic potential. A greater and more formal role for social movements in policy discussion and the decision-making process, a politics based on inclusion and intersecting identities, is contemplated through illustrations from Canada and abroad.