Reimagining the Internship to Promote Racial Equity
In diversity hiring, company leaders focus more often than not on entry-level positions. However, internships—and not entry-level positions—are where careers are launched and offer the next generation a chance to break into their dream job. In the tech industry, Silicon Valley companies offer lucrative, lifechanging salaries for interns. Its intern culture even has a name: Internapalooza. Internships function as a training ground for future professionals and leaders to learn about industries and jobs, develop skills for being a team player, and begin to build their professional networks.
So, why isn’t more attention given to internships in organizational DEI efforts?
When crafting a plan for organizational DEI efforts, it is important to think about who will lead them and who will benefit from them. Companies that emphasize the importance of building cultures that are diverse and inclusive are gaining competitive advantage and winning in the marketplace. Generation Z demands that their workplaces prioritize diversity and inclusion.
Racial minorities face systemic obstacles in the workplace. Companies can work to foster an inclusive environment for all by removing the gateway barriers that prevent racial minorities from applying to and accepting internships.
Gateway Barriers
Reluctance to apply and several systemic barriers limit the diversity of individuals from seeking internships. Unpaid internships specifically run the risk of unequal socioeconomic and racial representation. They typically can be afforded only by those with enough economic security to work for free for months at a time. Research has proven the correlation between lower socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity. Limiting the intern pool in this way leaves behind less advantaged students.
Minorities can also feel discouraged from applying to internships because they doubt their own ability and talent—a feeling known as “imposter syndrome”—or they determine, by surveying an organization’s racial demographics (especially in leadership positions), that a company isn’t seriously committed to racial diversity and inclusion.
Upon taking internships, people of color also face other psychological barriers, such as feelings of insecurity, a fear of how others perceive them, and stress from lack of social engagement. These emotions can tear away at one’s sense of belonging in the workplace and lead to exclusion.
Research shows that such feelings of insecurity and self-doubt manifest in part from the tokenization of minority groups that makes them hyper-visible and their contributions highly scrutinized. At the same time, they remain professionally invisible for promotion and growth opportunities. In professional settings, social engagement with others is largely based on perceived commonalities and experiences between people; we look to those who look like us and have similar experiences as guides and examples of our future careers. An organization that fails to create an inclusive culture can not only cause employees distress but also exclude minority perspectives from conversations and decisions that affect paths for advancement and promote business success.
How to Create an Inclusive Internship Program
A network of advocacy—for one’s self and for other racial minorities—is essential to creating a culture that is aware of and inclusive for all people. Such active allyship should be taught to interns and to all those entering the organizational pipeline. Internship programs should also include mentorship, a form of productive advocacy that helps to create opportunities for advancement by teaching interns how to navigate a company’s workplace culture and politics, and that can ultimately increase racial representation throughout an organizational pipeline. Companies can also establish social accountability as a management template to mitigate unconscious bias or discrimination in order to provide racial minorities in internship positions a greater sense of security and assurance that their company is dedicated to creating an equitable workplace.
Organizations that seek to improve DEI in their internship programs should focus on those who lead the programs. A diverse set of leaders will likely attract more talented diverse interns and create sustainable changes for future intern recruitment, and, potentially, the entire organization’s racial demographics. Such leaders should prioritize diversity from the bottom up, complete DEI training, focus on relationships with universities and diverse partners, and be transparent about their employee demographics as well as their hiring and promotion practices. The diversity of a company’s leadership and the work those leaders do to promote inclusivity indicate to potential interns that company’s commitment to racial equity.
Along with top-down advocacy, organizations should also develop a sense of community that welcomes racial minorities. This effort can help them overcome feelings of imposter syndrome and allay reservations they have about joining a team. A community that cares about the work of minorities’ work and includes their voices encourages a sense of belonging.
Abiding racial equity begins by understanding the challenges faced, and the support needed, by racial minorities. Organizations must be deliberate about what culture they want to develop and be consistent in their efforts. Holding ongoing conversations about DEI that include diverse voices will help an organization to strategize about the needs of underrepresented racial minorities in their workforce. Feedback is critical to reform. Working toward building greater understanding, creating supportive strategies, and soliciting feedback are three essential factors to maintaining a continuous cycle for equity and inclusion. By adopting these approaches, companies can create a welcoming environment for minority interns who will become future leaders in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.