Director of Diversity and Inclusion @ Bentley University | Equity Advocate
A direct quote from the NACE Position statement: "Particularly troubling, NACE research has also found that all college students are not equitably represented in internships (Inequity in Internships, NACE, 2021). According to survey data, women, Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students were underrepresented in paid internships. In 2022, NACE followed up on that initial analysis and the internship data from 187 employers demonstrated nearly identical inequities. Again, women, Black, and Hispanic students were significantly underrepresented as a proportion of paid interns. Taken together, the research shows that white, male, and continuing generation students are disproportionally overrepresented in paid internships. Providing more paid internships for underrepresented populations will lead to greater access, opportunity, and success for participating students; help fill critical roles throughout the employment landscape; and lead to needed diversification of the workforce." Internships are a high-impact practice that colleges and universities should be paying significant attention to and identifying action steps to close equity gaps.
NACE Director of Research and Public Policy Mary Gatta recently spoke with NPR and WBUR's Here & Now about our position statement advocating for all internships to be paid and the actions we believe Congress must take to make this a reality. https://ow.ly/j4oJ50Pq5HK
