When starting one’s career, an internship can be a ‘make it or break it’ moment before getting that first major job – the foundation on which one’s career stands. However, how much is that internship worth? One’s dignity? One’s self-respect? One’s family?
In recent years, companies in Kenya and across the globe have grown fond of the concept of unpaid internships – demanding that young people sacrifice their time, money, and effort in exchange for so-called “experience” or “exposure”.
Let me make this crystal clear… I detest the concept of unpaid internships. These engagements are a modern form of slavery; an attempt to exploit the hard work of young people with no guarantee of success or a job afterward.
I have spoken with interns from many different companies who decry the poor working conditions, long hours, and incessant demands by supervisors. Sadly, I have also heard countless stories of sexual abuse particularly among young female interns in the private (and even public) sector touching virtually every industry.
It is completely unacceptable to allow these horrific trends to continue.
Why do people earn salaries? To pay for the life they live. You provide time and effort while your employer pays you money in exchange. If people didn’t want to earn a salary, they would have no need to work in the first place.
Unpaid internships provide the loose idea of “experience” or “exposure” in exchange for someone’s time and effort. In an economy such as this, does Mama Mboga sell you food in exchange for “experience”? Can you buy smocha with mere “exposure”?
The answer is no – the world moves with money. If you expect interns to get themselves to the office, dress appropriately, eat, follow instructions, and live, then you need to pay them. Even without job experience, they deserve the dignity of a fair wage for their time and effort. The young people of this great nation are not slaves!
Now, given the period of history we find ourselves in Kenya, it is clear that young people need better opportunities. Not only the opportunity to gain experience and exposure, but the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families.
Despite this, some will criticize me for this stance saying that you have to train interns, watch them closely, and sign off on school documents. Those who benefit from the exploitation of young people will be the ones defending unpaid internships – plain and simple. This is not a question of money or time or of experience/exposure, this is a matter of being a decent human being.
Some defenders of unpaid internships have had the audacity to recommend that interns sell mandazis to co-workers to make a living. Imagine how degrading it would feel to have to spend your money to arrive at work, purchase mandazis and then have to hustle them to your bosses and ‘superiors’? This without a doubt puts the young intern in a compromising and humiliating position where they can easily be manipulated and extorted.
Certain individuals may be willing to undertake an unpaid internship; that is completely their own prerogative. If one’s willingness to work for free is the competitive edge they need to get into the door, there is nothing wrong with that. However, expecting people to work for free should not be the default setting.
Unpaid internships inequitably benefit young people from well off families because they can afford to take the role; these people can work knowing that their bills will be covered and their stomachs will be full at night. For someone who does not come from money, unpaid internships can threaten one’s health, wealth, life, and family.
If you treat your young people horribly, there is only so much they can take before they hit the streets. I am not saying that unpaid internships are responsible for the recent protests, but continuous disenfranchisement of Kenya’s youth, of which unpaid internships play a role, is just another brick in the wall.
As private sector business owners, it is our moral responsibility to treat everyone from the CEO to the cleaner and the intern with the same level of dignity and respect. There is no better day than today to be the change you want to see in the world – this is why I am calling the global business community to eradicate unpaid internships.
If your interns don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or whether or not they can afford rent, won’t they be more focused on helping your company grow?
