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Opinion | Unpaid internships are the privilege of the rich – companies, please stop exploiting graduates desperate for work experience
- While they are common practice, such arrangements are reserved for those privileged enough to be able to accept unpaid work
- With nearly one in five of Hong Kong’s 20- to 24-year-olds unemployed, we can expect to see internships thrive
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
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Unpaid internships thrive in recessions, hurting women, minorities and the poor. It’s time to stop exploiting graduates.
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Everyone in the arts has a juicy tale about their first unpaid internship. I know someone in fashion who was asked to fly to New York wearing a sapphire-encrusted watch because it was cheaper than posting it.
Another friend was at the beck and call of hungry celebrities while working on film sets. Others performed menial tasks – stuffing letters and fetching lunch – for demanding bosses in publishing.
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In my first unpaid role at a magazine in Hong Kong, there were almost as many interns as paid staff, and we filed just as many stories.
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