Many non-profit organisations hire volunteers who offer their time and expertise for zero financial compensation, a generally understandable position given the meagre funds that many charities have to run on. But the Lean In Foundation, brainchild of Facebook’s wealthy second-in-command Sheryl Sandberg, was caught up in a media storm last week as it sought to hire a staff member on those very terms. This came just a few weeks after Sandberg – already worth more than £250m – sold shares in the social media giant totalling £59 million.

A furore was sparked after LeanIn.org’s online editor Jessica Bennett posted this advert, ironically on Facebook: “Wanted: Lean In editorial intern, to work with our editor (me) in New York. Part-time, unpaid, must be HIGHLY organised with editorial and social chops and able to commit to a regular schedule through end of year. Design and web skills a plus! HIT ME UP. Start date ASAP.”

The issue of companies employing workers through “internships” but not actually paying them isn’t new, and has become more prevalent since the economic crash of 2008. Employers are in the driving seat, job levels have shrunk dramatically and there is a plethora of highly educated (and often desperate) graduates to choose from. Last year, for example, Tesco’s use of unpaid internships as part of a government-backed scheme to help young, unemployed people find paid jobs was heavily criticised for being exploitative.

Across the pond, meanwhile, legal rulings on the issue have sharpened following a recent Federal court decision that found Fox Searchlight Pictures in breach of wage laws by not paying interns who worked on the 2010 movie Black Swan.

Not all unpaid internships are exploitative, but they do inhibit social mobility, as poorer workers don’t have the financial reserves to work for free. In the case of Sandberg’s charity, hiring an unpaid intern would be particularly hypocritical, considering Lean In aims to bolster the position of women in the workplace by addressing issues such as gender-based remuneration disparities in the corporate world.

Following the public fallout of the unpaid job advert, Sandberg has now reportedly agreed to pay interns at the charity, according to a Facebook post by Lean In president Rachel Thomas.

Related story:

ETHICS GIRL: Let’s stop freeloading on interns

Image of Sheryl Sandberg courtesy of Michael Wuertenberg, via Flickr and the Wikimedia Commons