The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the social and institutional changes unfolding in Latin America and the Caribbean. The paper postulates that the new modes of democratic governance manifest themselves in the rules and regulations that govern the relationships between social actors in various scenarios, in particular between the State and society and between the State, the market and the family. These changes also create opportunities to transform gender roles. At the same time, this paper shows how the shift in relationships between men and women increases the foundations for the support of democratic governance by ensuring that high-level discussions and policy-making effectively mainstream the results achieved and problems overcome in the area of gender inequity.