What are democracy's foundational challenges? And how do we confront them democratically?

These two questions are brought forward by Anna Drake in this essay here: https://theloop.ecpr.eu/confronting-democracys-foundational-flaws/

Drake's approach rightfully admonishes certain models of democracy, like deliberative democracy, for building their theories and practices on social foundations that are both sexist and racist.

Drake, therefore, rightly argues:

"We must read conceptions of democracy together to reveal more information, much as Pateman and Mills use feminist and critical race theory to illuminate foundational democratic problems."

What is your diagnosis of democracy's foundational challenges and how would you try to resolve them?

https://theloop.ecpr.eu/confronting-democracys-foundational-flaws/