Giving Compass' Take:
- Kyra Kyles, CEO of YR Media, discusses the way in which unpaid internships only benefit those who are already privileged, exacerbating inequities.
- Why do some nonprofits calling for diversity, equity, and inclusion still not compensate their interns? How does this practice harm BIPOC and people without generational wealth?
- Learn more about closing the gap for disadvantaged students by paying interns.
What is Giving Compass?
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Though the days of the coffee-fetching, fax-sending, thumb-twiddling intern are all but over, there is one vestige of the "first rite" of career passage that is stubbornly stuck in the past: the unpaid part.
In an era when tween and teen content creators can make thousands of dollars for a single TikTok or Instagram post, it is ridiculous that there are employers who don't make the connection between younger workers' efforts and meaningful compensation. Nor do these employers see the throughline between the absence of said compensation and the predominantly white pipeline of privilege that continues to flow into their workplaces.
Make no mistake: There is enough evidence to demonstrate that the pipeline of privilege is skewed to the white and male side of the spectrum. As outlined in a 2020 article by Trevor Smith for The American Prospect tellingly titled "How Unpaid Internships Reinforce the Racial Wealth Gap," the disparity in generational wealth looms large when it comes to this issue.
"According to the Economic Policy Institute, median household wealth for white families is 12 times higher than that of black families," writes Smith. "This disparity makes it much harder for black households to weather crises like unemployment or medical emergencies, or to invest in the future. And while there are many drivers of this gap, often neglected is the role of unpaid internships, which have grown steadily more pervasive in recent years."
A report from Dēmos details how students who hail from high-income households are much more likely to be able to take advantage of internships, a rich resource for networking and experience, post-graduation. "Meanwhile, their less affluent peers graduate with college degrees financed by burdensome loans — while lacking the relevant work experience to get jobs that will allow them to pay off those loans," notes an article by the Association of American Colleges and Universities about the report.
Read the full article about unpaid internships by Kyra Kyles at Philanthropy News Digest.