HR Dive: are contingent workforces the next diversity frontier?

Are contingent workforces the next diversity and inclusion (D&I) frontier? That was the question posed to Vaishali Shah, vice president of Diversity and Inclusion for Managed Services Programs (MSP) at Randstad Sourceright in North America.

Research shows that up to 40% of the U.S. workforce is working in a contingent role. Focusing on workplace diversity and inclusion within this population is a must-do. According to Shah, companies can modify the programs they have for traditional employees to attract and engage diverse contingent talent as well.

“What that entails is, for each company, looking at where they might be underrepresented, looking at where they have opportunities to increase diversity and really making that connection between their D&I strategy and the underrepresented groups within their workforce that may not have had access to those opportunities,” explains Shah.

She sees expanding D&I initiatives to the contingent workforce as an evolving space, with both challenges and opportunities. It needs to be a sustainable, holistic and shared effort with a roadmap of key milestones validated by metrics. “It’ll just become part of the fabric of work,” says Shah. “Everybody will have a part to play in it.”

Read the full Q&A interview with Shah in HR Dive to learn more about advancing workforce diversity in the contingent workspace. You can also visit the Randstad Sourceright diversity and inclusion Insights stream for more insights on building a diverse workforce.