Have just read an excellent article by Tulip Siddiq in Progress. You can read it here, but this is my favourite paragraph:
A major obstacle exists within the culture of unpaid internships that is almost necessary before one can really enter into politics. This immediately puts BAME members at a disadvantage as statistics show that 75 per cent of the BAME community live in 88 of the poorest boroughs across Britain. I was lucky that I had the means to intern for free for a whole year but not everyone can afford that luxury.
I have always worried about what it means to be able to participate in free internships. There is no doubt in my mind that I would be working in Brussels now, if I had been able to work for free in a stagiere. In truth, I have never been lucky enough to have the personal finance to be able to work for free for anyone.
Yet, when an entire system has an entry-level built around working for free, then it isn't a surprise that politics tends to be staffed entirely by people of a certain background (and I mean this from every political persuasion).
SH
1 comment:
Thanks for your kind comments SH. As national BAME Officer for Young Labour, I'm working to overcome this problem of unpaid internships. Do contact me through my website www.tulipsiddiq.com if you want to share your thoughts on this.
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