In the second in her series on what we don’t talk about: race and the future of executive coaching, Bernice Hewson explores examining racial inequity through the lens of whiteness and asks, Why does examining racial inequity through the lens of whiteness make it easier to see?
Racial inequity remains a persistent challenge in the coaching profession, yet it’s often difficult to fully see or understand the roots of the problem. This article invites an exploration of whiteness as a way to deepen our understanding of how inequities take shape and persist. When we expand our understanding in this way, we open the door to more meaningful solutions – solutions that have the potential to create lasting change, both within coaching and the communities we serve.
Whiteness in coaching: a necessary conversation
In recent years, conversations about race and antiracism in coaching have gained momentum, spurred in part by the 2020 murder of black American man, George Floyd and the global reckoning that followed. Across professions and institutions, coaching included, systemic inequities have been challenged, exposing the limitations of traditional notions of ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity’.
Yet, despite the growing dialogue, a pressing question remains: Has this discourse led to meaningful progress toward racial equity, or has it stalled at the surface?
Too often, diversity and inclusion efforts in coaching appear performative – well-intentioned gestures that fail to address the deeper power structures at play. The challenge lies in distinguishing between initiatives that look transformative and those that truly disrupt inequity.
This is where Critical Whiteness Studies offers a valuable lens for deeper analysis. Institutional racism has long been recognised as an organisational failure to address inequities. However, the concept of institutional whiteness goes further. According to Critical Whiteness Studies, whiteness operates as the invisible mechanism that sustains systemic racism (Matias, 2014). It’s not an individual attribute or identity but a system of power embedded in institutions, cultures and practices. It reveals racism as a series of hidden actions, decisions and norms that, over time, shape institutions and unconsciously reinforce inequity. Through this lens, coaching can no longer look away. To remain relevant and equitable, the systems we operate in – and the power we uphold – must be critically examined.
In my research, the examination of whiteness in coaching is not about good and bad, or right and wrong. Instead, it’s about uncovering how systemic whiteness influences our work – through the frameworks we prioritise, the organisations we partner with, and the competencies we elevate. Without this awareness, everyday coaching decisions can inadvertently reproduce racial inequities.
By interrogating whiteness at a systemic level, coaching can begin to align more intentionally with principles of equity and justice. Recognising these dynamics opens pathways to transformative change, shifting coaching from passive participation in inequitable systems to active disruption of them.
The problem with ‘naming’ whiteness
Naming whiteness comes with challenges. The term is often misunderstood as referring to individual identity or personal blame. Concepts such as ‘white privilege’ and ‘white fragility’, originally tools for understanding systemic inequity, have been co-opted and misused, framed as personal attacks on those racialised as white. This distortion derails conversations about racial equity, shifting focus from systems of inequity to individual defensiveness.
Meaningful change cannot emerge from a posture of defence or attack. Instead, racial equity work must be rooted in a shared understanding: collective responsibility for collective liberation. Naming whiteness isn’t about dividing us but about unmasking the power dynamics that shape our institutions and practices. The question therefore remains, what does examining antiracism in coaching through the lens of whiteness reveal?
1. Moving beyond diversity as a magic bullet
The concept of whiteness as the norm –neutral, unmarked, and invisible – has long shaped our understanding of diversity. Within Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) frameworks, individuals racialised as Black or Brown are positioned as diverse, reinforcing whiteness as the default. Neoliberal anti-racist discourse has further embedded the idea that racial diversity alone equals progress, valuing the presence of Black and Brown bodies in predominantly white spaces – whether in workplaces, coach training organisations, or leadership teams.
My research challenges this misguided belief that representation alone signals progress. While representation is necessary, it’s not sufficient. Viewed through the lens of institutional whiteness, diversity efforts often operate as a form of ‘management and containment of difference’ – where KPI-driven initiatives offer inclusion without critically addressing systemic inequities. Instead of disrupting whiteness, these efforts ‘perform antiracism’, maintaining the status quo and protecting white dominance.
Moreover, this framework fails to recognise that individuals racialised as non-white, educated and socialised within the same neoliberal systems, can also perpetuate institutional whiteness. Decisions, practices and actions – whether intentional or unconscious – can reproduce racial hierarchies even in the name of diversity.
True progress requires moving beyond diversity as a superficial goal. Institutional whiteness in coaching, and elsewhere, holds the power to choose action or inaction, inclusion or exclusion, change or the status quo. Without critical thinking and systemic disruption, diversity alone becomes a distraction, offering inclusion without transformation.
2. Unmasking white dominance in coaching
The coaching industry often prides itself on its inclusive ethos, reinforced by ethical codes, policies and competency frameworks. On the surface, these measures suggest a profession committed to equity. Yet, the stark underrepresentation of Black and Brown coaches globally raises a critical question: How can we reconcile these intentions with the ongoing racial disparities?
Research suggests that the coaching industry often mirrors the racial hierarchies and inequities seen in the corporate world (Passmore, 2021). Common responses to this issue tend to emphasise deficit-based narratives, which can frame Black and Brown coaches as lacking – whether in qualifications, financial access, or professional experience. While these explanations may appear straightforward, they reflect the influence of systemic power structures that uphold whiteness as the default standard, limiting space for alternative perspectives to emerge.
White dominance works insidiously to shape the narrative of racial inequity. It reframes systemic exclusion as individual inadequacy, shifting attention away from the coaching profession’s role in maintaining barriers to access. For example, while research highlights lower numbers of Black students attending and succeeding at UK universities (Weekes-Bernard, 2010), focusing solely on this fact as an explanation risks oversimplification. It ignores the role that institutional practices, such as exclusion from corporate coaching pools, limited access to prestigious opportunities, and the failure to foster belonging, play in reinforcing racial inequities (Roche & Passmore, 2022).
The coaching profession cannot afford to accept these racial disparities as inevitable or rationalise them as a problem of individual deficits. Doing so preserves white dominance and perpetuates the very inequities we aim to challenge. To disrupt this, we must adopt a critical lens: one that interrogates how whiteness shapes the systems, norms and opportunities within the profession, and ensures Black and Brown coaches not only enter the industry but thrive within it.
3. White innocence: coaching’s self-image
The concept of white innocence, introduced by Wekker (2016), describes the Dutch self-identity as being ‘free of race’ and, by implication, free of racism. Critical whiteness studies have adopted this term to explain how whiteness positions itself as neutral, benevolent and incapable of causing harm. My research suggests that white innocence is deeply embedded in the coaching profession’s self-image: as a helping, ethical field rooted in respect, mutual trust, and a belief in its inherent ‘goodness’.
This framing imagines coaching as a young adult – immature but well-intentioned – one that simply needs time to mature and address its racial shortcomings. However, whiteness reveals the danger of this innocence: it obscures the systemic nature of racial inequities, perpetuating the idea that coaching, as a profession, is inherently incapable of harm. This uncritical narrative masks accountability, stifles critical reflection and sustains the status quo.
The dissonance between racial inequities (as evidenced by data) and coaching’s rhetoric of inclusivity, allows whiteness to remain unchallenged. Trusting in membership bodies, training providers and professional ethics to ‘do the right thing’ reflects a broader reliance on systems that uphold whiteness. By failing to interrogate these systems, we obfuscate responsibility for addressing inequity.
Ahmed (2006) reminds us that institutions don’t simply exist; they’re shaped over time through repeated actions, decisions and norms. The coaching profession, therefore, isn’t passively evolving toward equity. Instead, it’s actively reproducing whiteness through its investments in academic research, recruitment practices and the delivery of coach training. These cumulative actions define the coaching profession today and reinforce racial inequities under the guise of neutrality and good intentions.
If coaching is to meaningfully drive racial equity, we must critically examine how whiteness uses innocence to protect its image and dissonance to mask responsibility. This requires disrupting the comforting narratives of inherent ‘goodness’ and rejecting the idea of inevitable progress. Instead, there must be a collective acknowledgment that racial inequities are produced and sustained through deliberate decisions and practices – and that accountability lies in the collective, as we all contribute to shaping the coaching profession of the future.
Conclusion
The coaching profession holds immense potential to drive equity, yet this cannot happen without examining how whiteness operates within our systems and practices. By moving beyond comforting narratives and critically reflecting on our role in sustaining inequity, we can begin to dismantle the barriers that limit access, inclusion, and belonging.
This isn’t an individual journey but a collective one. It’s an opportunity to reimagine coaching as a profession take intentional action to transform coaching into a profession that genuinely reflects equity and justice.
- Next issue: From awareness to action: starting the journey toward racial equity in coaching
About the author
- Bernice Hewson is an accredited EMCC senior practitioner, a racial equity scholar, and an anti-racism educator. As the visionary founder of Raising Racial Consciousness, she’s committed to advancing understanding of power, oppression, and racial equity in coaching and organisational practices. She delivers accredited coach education training and partners with coach training providers and leadership teams to deepen their knowledge and implementation of these critical topics.
- To learn more, visit www.raisingracialconsciousness.com
- Hear Bernice and fellow panelist Will James at the last Roundtable for Race Equity in Coaching on 15 January, hosted by Coaching at Work editor Liz Hall. https://bit.ly/437EIrj
- Hewson will be delivering a Coaching at Work masterclass later this year, and this month (11 March) will be a panelist with Rita Puri at the Coaching at Work hosted Roundtable for Race Equity in Coaching’s next webinar. https://bit.ly/3D9uY5h
References
- Ahmed, S. (2006). The Nonperformativity of Antiracism. Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism,7(1), 104-126.
- Matias, C. E., et al. (2014). What is Critical Whiteness Doing in OUR Nice Field like Critical Race Theory? Equity and Excellence in Education, 47(3), 289-304.
- Passmore, J. (2021). Future Trends in Coaching: Executive Report, Henley-On-Thames. Henley Business School and EMCC International.
- Roche, C., & Passmore, J. (2022). Anti-racism in coaching: a global call to action, Coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1-18.
- Weekes-Bernard, D. (2010). Widening Participation and Race Equality. Runneymede Trust.
- Wekker, G. (2016). White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race (1st Ed). Duke University Press.
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