New Report Spotlights Tech’s ‘Shadow Workforce’

A new report released this week details the experiences of Silicon Valley’s “shadow workforce” — the temporary contract workers tech companies hire through third parties. These contractors, who are disproportionately women and people of color, receive different pay, benefits and protections than employees. While tech companies have fared well during the pandemic, according to the report authored by TechEquity Collaborative, “the temporary, contract, and contingent workers who are classified differently from their directly-employed counterparts despite performing critical roles for the companies—have been locked out of tech’s prosperity.” We’ll discuss the yearlong investigation’s findings about this “two-tier system” of employment and why some are pushing to change it.