Hi Sofia. I agree that orgs should try to avoid relying on volunteer labor if they can, for the reasons you outline. I donât agree with your explanation for why the status quo is what it is.
I donât agree that âEA communityâs high use of volunteer labor shows that a lot of EAs donât relate to the average person in the world who is a couple of paychecks away from being homelessâ first of all because Iâm not clear on how high that use is, and secondly because the orgs who happen to be using volunteer labor may just be financially constrained. Just because thereâs a lot of money in EA doesnât necessarily mean those particular orgs have that money available to spend.
âFor example, most people in EA that I spoke to about me not being able to get a visa were surprised that this is even an issue and many people who organise EA-related events have made plans to make them more accessible to people from more countries.ââthis seems to support my point? Those organising the events make plans to make them accessible, i.e. are aware of the issue and taking some (though clearly not all possible) steps to mitigate difficulties for attendees.
That many people not involved in organising events donât know about all the difficulties potential attendees might have doesnât seem too important to me, though Iâm open to being corrected here? It seems a lot to expect everyone to be knowledgeable about this if itâs not directly related to their work.
Hi Sofia. I agree that orgs should try to avoid relying on volunteer labor if they can, for the reasons you outline. I donât agree with your explanation for why the status quo is what it is.
I donât agree that âEA communityâs high use of volunteer labor shows that a lot of EAs donât relate to the average person in the world who is a couple of paychecks away from being homelessâ first of all because Iâm not clear on how high that use is, and secondly because the orgs who happen to be using volunteer labor may just be financially constrained. Just because thereâs a lot of money in EA doesnât necessarily mean those particular orgs have that money available to spend.
âFor example, most people in EA that I spoke to about me not being able to get a visa were surprised that this is even an issue and many people who organise EA-related events have made plans to make them more accessible to people from more countries.ââthis seems to support my point? Those organising the events make plans to make them accessible, i.e. are aware of the issue and taking some (though clearly not all possible) steps to mitigate difficulties for attendees.
That many people not involved in organising events donât know about all the difficulties potential attendees might have doesnât seem too important to me, though Iâm open to being corrected here? It seems a lot to expect everyone to be knowledgeable about this if itâs not directly related to their work.