Unpaid internships and the pipeline of privilege: A commentary by Kyra Kyles

Ending the pipeline of privilege: Why unpaid internships perpetuate inequities

Though the days of the coffee-fetching, fax-sending, thumb-twiddling intern are all but over, there is one vestige of the "first rite" of career passage that is stubbornly stuck in the past: the unpaid part.

In an era when tween and teen content creators can make thousands of dollars for a single TikTok or Instagram post, it is ridiculous that there are employers who don't make the connection between younger workers' efforts and meaningful compensation. Nor do these employers see the throughline between the absence of said compensation and the predominantly white pipeline of privilege that continues to flow into their workplaces.

Make no mistake: There is enough evidence to demonstrate that the pipeline of privilege is skewed to the white and male side of the spectrum....

Read the full commentary by Kyra Kyles, CEO of YR Media.

(Photo credit: GettyImages)