Summa tackles internship discrimination: 'Much takes place beneath the surface'

Internship discrimination is often subtle and takes place behind closed doors. It involves situations where a student is treated differently based on, for example, origin, gender, or religion. Summa tackles internship discrimination with a central reporting point and training for teachers. “This needs to spread like wildfire.”

One in ten MBO students experiences discrimination during their internship, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). In reality, this number is likely higher. Students do not always report it, for example out of fear of consequences or because they doubt whether discrimination is actually taking place. Summa wants to offer students a safe learning environment and invests in tackling discrimination during internships.

The municipality supports this approach. “Eindhoven wants to be an inclusive city where everyone is equal and can live in freedom,” says policy advisor Yunus Balci. “Addressing discrimination during internships falls under this as well.” The focus is on education and employers. “You often hear that students need to become more resilient. It is good to give students tools for resilience, but you must not place the responsibility on the victim. Government, education, and the business community must tackle this together. Above all, students need to know where they can report discrimination during internships and experience that it is being handled properly.”

Summa has a reporting procedure and trains teachers. The municipality subsidizes these training courses, which are provided by the anti-discrimination agency RADAR. Teachers can take two training courses: one to recognize discrimination during internships and an in-depth training course on how to conduct conversations with employers who discriminate. “Many schools and training companies think that discrimination during internships is not an issue for them,” says Lilia Visser of RADAR, who provides the training at Summa. “They do not recognize it or dismiss it. By sharing knowledge, we raise awareness among teachers. They bring in their own cases and therefore learn from each other as well.” According to Lilia, the teachers are driven to combat discrimination during internships. “They share the knowledge within their team. It spreads like wildfire.”

So far, 25 Summa lecturers have completed the basic training, 15 of whom also delved deeper. For Ron Stultiens, Safety lecturer and internship coordinator, it was an eye-opener. “During the course, a colleague of Turkish descent mentioned that people sometimes say he is 'a good foreigner.' Well-intentioned, but that is absolutely not how he experiences it. He is set apart based on his background; it gives him the feeling that he does not automatically belong. And there is much more going on beneath the surface.”

The training sets teachers in motion. “I am going to give a presentation about it to the team and get the conversation going,” says Ron. “I also want to involve students more. For example, by discussing internship discrimination directly in the first interview with the training company and the student. In addition, it is good to bring this to their attention at the introductory meeting for new students.” In this way, the approach spreads further step by step. Exactly the ripple effect Lilia is hoping for.