Lean In Says It Will Start Paying Interns
Only days after we discovered Sheryl Sandberg's foundation was looking for uncompensated young workers, the group says it'll start doing the right thing: paid internships are coming.
In a Facebook post responding to furor over the group's economic hypocrisy, Lean In Foundation president Rachel Thomas says the following:
I am Rachel Thomas, the president of LeanIn.Org.
We recognize there is an ongoing public debate on the appropriate use of unpaid interns. So we want to share the facts with you and our community.
Like many nonprofits, LeanIn.Org has attracted volunteers who are passionate about our mission. We’ve had four students ask to volunteer with us. They worked flexibly when they could, and often remotely.
These volunteers helped support our message and community, and gained valuable experience doing so. They did not displace or delay the hiring of paid employees. The posting that prompted this discussion was for a position that doesn’t fall within LeanIn.Org's definition of a “volunteer.”
As a startup, we haven’t had a formal internship program. Moving forward we plan to, and it will be paid.
We support equality - and that includes fair pay - and we’ll continue to push for change in our own organization and our broader community.
Emphasis added. I've emailed Lean In asking if they're still taking unpaid "volunteers" in the meantime—no reply yet. [via Washington Post]
