Black college students overrepresented in unpaid internships

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By Delece Smith-Barrow

There’s a stark difference in the kinds of internships awarded to Black and white students, and it’s the Black students who are getting the short end of the stick, according to data published this month from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Black students were 6.6 percent of the nearly 4,000 graduating seniors who participated in a 2019 NACE survey, but they accounted for 7.3 percent of unpaid internships. They represented 6 percent of paid internship opportunities.

White students were 71 percent of the graduating seniors who completed the survey, but they accounted for 74 percent of paid internships.

Overall, the data showed nonwhite students to be behind their white peers in just about every way. Graduating Latino students were 10 percent of survey respondents, but they represented 7.9 percent of paid internships. They were also overrepresented for students who never had an internship. Multiracial students who were graduating were overrepresented for students who had an unpaid internship.

Whether students get an internship, and whether they will be compensated, can have long-term effects on their career trajectory and salary, because companies often use internships as a pipeline for full-time roles.

“What we know is internships are highly valued by employers and that a student who has an internship is more likely to receive a job offer than someone who does not,” said Shawn VanDerziel, the executive director of NACE.

If a student isn’t paid for summer internship work, getting a full-time job can be more difficult, he said.

“A student who has had a paid internship, in our studies… received nearly 50 percent more job offers than those that either had an unpaid internship or no internship at all,” VanDerziel said. “That paid internship does hold a lot of value in employers’ view.”

Also, students who have had unpaid internships and then apply for a job might be low-balled for their pay.

“A paid intern receives a premium in pay at their first job, as compared to someone who has only had unpaid internship experiences,” VanDerziel said.

How an institution’s career services department supports Black students may affect what kind of work experiences these students have. Black students used their career services departments more than other races and ethnicities did, even though they are disproportionately represented for unpaid internships, according to the NACE survey results.

“How are career services professionals directing black students and sharing information about internship opportunities?” said AiLun Ku, the president and CEO of The Opportunity Network, which helps Black, indigenous and other underrepresented college students get into and through college, as well as get paid summer internships.

There are a few ways career services departments can help more Black students get more paid internships, Ku said.

They can partner with a college or university’s Black student union to make sure those students are aware of career opportunities, Ku said. And when working with Black students, career services professionals can help Black students learn to communicate how their life experience, in some instances, make them uniquely prepared for work.

“One of the things that we see oftentimes with our Black students is they’re active contributors to caregiving and finances in their families,” Ku said. “That’s a huge skill set. The fact that you are contributing to the management of your household, while balancing schoolwork, that in itself is a leadership skill.”

How can colleges and universities make sure more Black students have paid internships? What can employers do to make sure Black students aren’t overrepresented in unpaid internship? Email or tweet me your thoughts.

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Black college students overrepresented in unpaid internships

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