United Nations comes under fire on Twitter for posting an unpaid internship ad
For a young adult at the beginning of her/his career, working with a prestigious body like the United Nations (UN) would be a dream come true.
And every year, the UN plays host to thousands of interns around the world. But how is a person supposed to survive for two, three, even six months without any pay? Unpaid internships are exclusionary and classist and it is especially shocking when this kind of lack of diversity exists in an institution that is supposed to champion representation and social equality.
Funnily enough, Article 23 of the organisation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights is literally "Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity".
So when the organisation posted about yet another unpaid internship (a full-time gig that could go on for three months and requires one to be enrolled in a Master's program no less) on their Twitter account, people were quick to point out the hypocrisy:
That awkward moment when the UN harps on about labour exploitation and then refuses to pay its interns...
The UN, which has its headquarters in New York, doesn't seem to care about how someone will survive without remuneration in one of the most expensive cities in the world
And this has been a pattern for a while
Also, not only is it wrong but it is also against the law
Pay your interns or don't have interns sounds about fair to us
Comments