Morgan Stanley Under Fire for Minority-Only Intern Program

An advocacy group is pressing financial giant Morgan Stanley to end an internship program open only to gay students and select minorities.

The Project on Fair Representation on Tuesday sent a letter to Morgan Stanley and Princeton University warning that identity-based criteria for the bank’s 2022 Freshman Enhancement Program violate federal nondiscrimination laws. The internship is open only to "Black, Hispanic, Native American, and/or LGBTQ+ freshman undergraduate student[s]," according to Morgan Stanley’s website. Princeton has allegedly encouraged its students to apply for the program, according to the letter.

"Morgan Stanley and Princeton are leading institutions in our culture," the letter reads. "What you do matters not only because it affects the individuals involved, but also because you set an influential example for others. Pandering to activists with ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ initiatives like this internship program is actively harming and racializing our already divided country."

The program keeps with the uptick in race-based benefits in recent years. Following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, gig economy behemoths like Uber and Postmates waived delivery fees for black-owned restaurants. And public health agencies have encouraged providers to prioritize certain minority groups when distributing scarce COVID-19 therapeutics.