Unpaid Internships or Glorified Free Labor?
By: Sabrina Messite, Chronic.com Staff Writer
“Intern” image via The Devil Wears Prada
Even before I finished my spring semester of sophomore year, I was bombarded by texts from my well-meaning mom of links to every internship and part-time job posted in the Tri-State area. In between studying for finals, I wrote cover letters and submitted applications to any and all positions listed on Indeed that I could be qualified for. Even if I had zero interest in a specific position, the pressure I felt to not have a blank space on my resume for this summer compelled me to apply to jobs at companies that I wasn’t even sure were real. It felt like I was sending applications into the void, as thousands of other college students were applying to the same positions and I had little hope that I would somehow stand out among all of the other people desperate for any position.
The tremendous amount of applicants for unpaid internships stood out to me, as I couldn’t help but think that these companies were taking advantage of young adults that were scouring for anything in an economy still struggling from the pandemic. I knew that even if I couldn’t find a paid summer job, I was fortunate to have a place to stay at home with my family and all of the basic necessities provided for me no matter what.
As I opened rejection emails from everything from retail jobs to unpaid internships at random agencies, I kept thinking about people my age who depend on working a paying job over the summer. With the Class of 2020 entering the worst job market since the Great Depression just last year, what will people who simply can’t afford to take unpaid positions do if little to nothing else is available? Besides the immediate struggle to find a decent paying position as a college student, the lasting impact of not having the luxury of taking an unpaid position can be detrimental to those excluded from the networks and connections that are often necessary to get ahead in the workforce. Students who need to support themselves or family members are automatically cut off from the benefits that come with unpaid internships at exclusive companies, as many people cannot live solely off of “the experience” that these positions promise. In the alluring fashion and entertainment industries, fields notorious for relying on exploiting young, unpaid interns desperate for a foot in the door, both the toxicity of the workplace—particularly for POC—and the impossibility of supporting oneself exclude a pool of many deserving and qualified candidates.
When we enter the job market after graduation, the impressive jobs secured at Goldman Sachs are often obtained by previous unpaid work for those companies, by students who likely already have more connections from their parents’ networks.
Avalon Fenster, a rising sophomore at Barnard College, fought for change as the Policy and Community Outreach Fellow at the nonprofit organization Pay Our Interns. Led by two formerly unpaid interns of color, the group’s mission is to “ensure individuals from all backgrounds are represented across industries impacting their communities, and to develop pathways for advancement.” Originally a campaign launched in 2017 to ensure pay for all congressional interns, Pay Our Interns secured a fund “that has budgeted about 48 million dollars to date” which has provided “every single office” in both the Senate and the House the means to pay their interns. After this win, the organization expanded its reach, as Fenster recalls working on policy projects at the “State Department, The Department of Labor, and the White House.” These efforts were motivated by research conducted by the nonprofit which found that “unpaid internships primarily were accessible to white students and wealthy students, and unpaid internships were a lot harder for socio-economically disadvantaged, low-income students of color- specifically Black, Latinx and Native American students.” Pay Our Interns, “the nation’s only organization” dedicated to this cause, is hopefully the spearhead of a successful movement to abolish exploitative unpaid internships for good.
