Committed to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion? Pay Interns.
Many around the world celebrated International Workers’ Day on May 1st, including members of the Fair Internship Initiative who marched through the rain to protest the United Nation’s unpaid internship programs. The Initiative advocates for fair, accessible, and quality internships across the UN system and decries “unpaid internships are a form of discrimination”. Back in 2015, a UN intern made headlines for living in a tent during his stint at the headquarters to bring attention to the problematic policy. However, we know that beyond Geneva, unpaid internships are pervasive in the development sector — and they’re an increasingly bad look in an era where organizations are finally being forced to critically evaluate their policies and programming. In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, many NGOs have published their commitments to anti-racism and social justice. It’s time to interrogate if their actions support these words. This field has a lot to learn and do to become anti-racist and ending the elitist practice of free internships is just one of many critical changes they should make.
Why is this important? If you’ve attended any international development, public health, or aid sector panel in the U.S. or in other “Western” countries, you’ve probably witnessed an All-White Panel (and often an All White Man-el) or two. As a D.C.-based non-profit worker with degrees in international studies and global health, I definitely have. As I attended many of these events in Washington, a global hub for these fields, I assured myself that the generation lining up in the aisle to ask questions would soon replace those on stage giving all the answers. But if I look around into the many offices I’ve worked in as an intern, assistant, student, fellow, and all the other euphemisms for unpaid work, I see a career path only accessible to the very privileged.
Shocking! Working for free is not a viable option for many
In my experience in the non-profit/NGO world, there is an expectation that young people will work for free as interns (sometimes for years!) to secure salaried positions with an organization. Unpaid positions are often justified by an organization’s “not for profit” title, and I naively agreed that I could volunteer my time with an organization as a way to give back. (Meanwhile, c-suite non-profit execs are making millions.)
Zahra Ali said it best in her 2018 article, Issa Rae’s Not Alone: Why Nonprofit Hiring Practices Need to Change :
“nonprofits are given somewhat of a pass because they ‘do good’ in the form of the mission-driven like saving the environment, raising money for a cure, or educating children from neighborhoods with low resources. This allows nonprofits to escape examination under the same critical eye that for-profits are. For that to change, we need to accept that both for-profit and nonprofit industries are susceptible to perpetuating human biases and systemic injustices.”
Do-gooding is one thing, but putting in 25–30 unpaid hours per week while going to school full-time and racking up student loan debt is just not sustainable. So why do we do it? Career counselors, mentors, supervisors, and networking connections all advised me to secure an internship while in school or upon graduation— “it will get your foot in the door”, “you’ll create valuable networks”, “you’ll get to try different areas of work and gain great experience as a young professional.” And they were right — all of those things are true. I completed two unpaid internships and another abroad where I had to pay for my own travel. That experience with big-name organizations and fieldwork landed me some incredible jobs. But I am in the minority of people who can spend over a year working for free, and that is the glaring problem that remains. Looking at my internship cohort was like staring into an infinity mirror with a bunch of smart, driven, well-to-do, white women looking back at me.
In 2015 The Brookings Institute likened unpaid internships to the glass floor, “One of the obstacles to greater intergenerational mobility (of the relative kind) is the ‘glass floor’ that keeps less talented children born to affluent parents at the top of the income ladder. One way in which affluent parents protect their children from falling is by using personal or professional connections to arrange job or internship opportunities — but there are less visible forms of protection, such as paying the summer living costs that make an unpaid internship feasible. This is not meritocracy: it is opportunity hoarding.”
These organizations have little incentive to pay their interns — why spend a limited budget on roles they can get young people to do for free in exchange for valuable experience? Especially when organizations are encouraged to cut operational costs for grant funding. That strategy seems logical until you consider the fact that reserving opportunities for the elite and privileged is not aligned with the mission and values of an organization supposedly designed to help people.
“Monetary incentives aren’t the solution to greater equity, but I see an expectation of unpaid work as a significant barrier to many of those without the benefit of generational wealth and other structural privileges.”
Isn’t it ironic?
Unfortunately, the non-profit model developed to help marginalized and exploited communities may be reinforcing these structures. I don’t believe unpaid non-profit internships were designed to exclude people, but I do believe that’s how they currently function. Monetary incentives aren’t the only solution to greater equity, but I see an expectation of unpaid work as a significant barrier to many of those without the benefit of generational wealth and other structural privileges.
“If the way we address problems stems from our unique history, culture, challenges, and world views, how can we expect such a small, elite subset of our society to have all the answers?”
In addition to the obvious right to and value of equity, a diversity of perspectives also enriches any movement. “Innovation” has been the buzzword in development and many other industries for the last few years. They say innovation will be spurred by “new minds” and “change-makers.” But what if those currently at the table aren’t the only ones with novel ideas and solutions? What if doing the work to include more communities and perspectives in this field is a way to bring in new ideas? If the way we address problems stems from our unique history, culture, challenges, and world views, how can we expect such a small, elite subset of our society (and their children) to have all the answers?
The Revolution Will Not Be Diversity & Inclusion Training
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) trainings and committees are not enough when the leadership makeup does not change nor do their hiring and management practices. Abolishing free internships is key, but sustainable change will also need to come from the top. Diversify the board, the senior leadership, and protect staff who are brave enough to report damaging practices.
It won’t completely change the face of non-profits or solve all the sector’s problems with privilege and power, but providing paid internships could encourage greater representation and inclusion in the space. I’m fortunate to have worked at organizations that do pay their fellows and interns. My hope is that nonprofits will see the negative effects that unpaid internships can have on prospective young talent and their organization as a whole. Those privileged, well-meaning interns will someday be staff, leadership, thought-leaders, and decision-makers. It’s a disservice to organizations striving for positive change in the world to be represented and led by such a small margin of voices and perspectives.
Cassidy Howell was a 2017–2018 Global Health Corps fellow in Malawi.
Natasha Buksh was a 2014–2014 Global Health Corps fellow in Malawi.
Melissa Otterbein was a 2014–2015 Global Health Corps fellow in the United States.
Global Health Corps (GHC) is a leadership development organization building the next generation of health equity leaders around the world. All GHC fellows, partners, and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. There is a role for everyone in the movement for health equity. To learn more, visit our website and connect with us on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook.
