What Makes the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sectors so Toxic? – The Jillian Michaels Problem (Part I)

In the many years that I’ve been an executive coach for women of color, I’ve found one consistent trend: those who worked in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector have had, by far, some of the most toxic and traumatic experiences in the workplace across all of my clients. 

That’s not to suggest that the corporate sector or academia can’t also uphold racism and anti-Blackness or that the experiences of women of color in those spaces are any less harmful. But as someone who has both coached and worked in the space, there is a special kind of callousness that is hallmark to mission-driven organizations. 

I was reminded of that callousness and toxicity after watching a recent exchange between fitness trainer Jillian Michaels and a panel of talking heads on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillips. Michaels was brought on for a panel discussion about the Kennedy Center, yet somehow steered the conversation to talk about slavery and gender testing in sports. She complained about political bias in cultural institutions and said that “you cannot tie imperialism, and racism, and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every exhibit does.”

Seeing Michaels, a personal trainer and nutritionist, sit alongside a highly experienced journalist and political commentator begged the question of how she got there in the first place. Her ability to simultaneously be loud, wrong, and antagonistic are traits that often show up in mission-driven spaces, and contribute to the harmful experiences that women of color have on the job. 

White Women are Elevated to Lead on Issues They Have no Lived Experience With

Jillian Michaels’ pivot from a fitness trainer, host of a weight loss reality show, and nutritionist to now being a political commentator showcases the authority that White women are allowed to have on subjects that they have little to no experience with. While anyone should have the ability to grow and try new things in their career, White women are able to do it without question, guardrails, or skepticism. They are more willingly or even preemptively provided with opportunities that women of color have to exhaust themselves for. 

Candid’s 2024, "The state of diversity in the U.S. nonprofit sector report," backs this up and reveals that White women are overrepresented in leadership positions in the nonprofit sector, particularly in larger and more resourced organizations. White women led 45% of the nonprofits in Candid’s data set, while women of color led 18%. 

That imbalance creates a culture where White women are elevated to be the authority and voice on issues that they have likely only engaged with on a theoretical level, and systemically positions women of color under their supervision. And similar to the case of Michaels and Phillips, it also creates an environment where women of color are forced to bear witness to their callousness and bigotry, making most of the work of a nonprofit focused on managing emotions and battling biases. 

Loud and Wrong as Intrinsic to Leadership

Across the nonprofit sector, leadership roles are often given to people who are the least equipped to lead across race, class, or lived experience. Instead, they are rewarded for being comfortable in White-dominant spaces and not wanting to challenge White Supremacy Culture and anti-Blackness.

In the same way that many privileged White men in the corporate sector are allowed to fail up into positions of power, White women in the nonprofit sector are permitted to fumble their way to the top (often at the expense and detriment of women of color) and be loud and wrong. They can confidently make sweeping decisions about programs, messaging, and strategy without input from the very people they claim to serve, and when challenged, they weaponize their fragility and institutional power, framing women of color as “difficult,” “unprofessional,” or “not a culture fit.”

It’s the same dynamic we saw in real time on CNN: Jillian Michaels hijacking a conversation, reframing history to fit her bigoted worldview, and refusing to interrogate her own limited perspective — all while the institution (in this case, a national news network) gleefully hands her the microphone.

How This Harms Women of Color

White women’s dominance in nonprofit leadership leaves deep personal, mental, emotional, financial, and professional wounds for women of color. They often endure: 

• Gaslighting: Their expertise is downplayed or erased while they’re told they “misunderstood” blatantly racist or biased comments and treatment.

• Emotional Labor Overload: Women of color are expected to both do their job and educate White leadership on societal issues that they’re perpetuating within their own organizations  — all without additional pay or recognition.

• Career Stagnation: When opportunities for advancement, especially at better resourced organizations, are funneled toward White women, it leaves women of color with fewer pathways to leadership. And, it stifles their economic growth and potential, pigeonholing them into roles with low wages and high burnout. 

• Retaliation for Speaking Up: Raising concerns about bias can lead to being sidelined, isolated, or pushed out entirely.

The nonprofit sector’s claim to be mission-driven masks this reality that its leadership still too often upholds tenets of White Supremacy Culture. Meticulously-worded mission statements don’t erase the truth that behind closed doors, staff of color navigate a hostile work environment under leaders who are rarely held accountable.

Breaking the Cycle

If the nonprofit sector is serious about equity, it has to stop rewarding the Jillian Michaels of the world — the charismatic, self-assured White woman whose expertise is assumed and whose biases are ignored and protected. That means:

• Rethinking Leadership Pipelines: Actively recruit and promote women of color into decision-making roles and create the culture and environment for them to succeed and be trusted (not just DEI-adjacent positions).

• Making Lived Experience a Leadership Credential: Prioritize leaders who have direct connection to the communities served.

• Creating Accountability Structures: Boards must evaluate leaders on equity and anti-racism practices, not just fundraising metrics.

• Ending the White Savior Playbook: Recognize when a White leader’s “vision” is simply repackaging the labor, ideas, and cultural knowledge of staff of color.

The nonprofit sector likes to market itself as the conscience of society, but just like Jillian Michaels on CNN, it platforms, rewards, and advances bigotry. Real change starts when we stop confusing confidence for competence and start asking who gets to be loud, and at whose expense.