When Hetal Parikh immigrated to the United States at the age of 10, she thought it was beautiful that people with different backgrounds have so much opportunity here. As she grew older, though, she realized those opportunities were not open to all.

Parikh committed to changing that. And when she and her husband, fellow DE&I Influencer Nish Parikh, founded Rangam Consultants in 1995, she sought to use it as a vehicle to examine and change how the industry looks at talent. “What talent is being overlooked because of the current systems and processes?” she asks.

Under Parikh’s leadership, the woman-owned, minority-owned and disabled-owned company works to establish best practices to remove any unconscious bias that individuals may have when making hiring and purchasing decisions. Parikh and her team have created a recruiting model that honors the ability of each individual and screens in top talent to match them to meaningful and rewarding career opportunities. While all types of diversity remain the ultimate objective, Rangam has a specialized focus on disability diversity, neurodiversity and gender diversity, partnering with DE&I leaders to build holistic, inclusive talent solutions.

"How do we look at talent? What talent is being overlooked because of current systems and processes?"

“Enterprises are looking at DE&I to make it a true solution, not just an initiative,” Parikh says.

Rangam’s commitment to diversity is reflected in its own composition as well, with 51% of its staff identifying with a minority group.

Outside of her work with Rangam, Parikh is closely associated with WBENC NextGen and Dell’s Women’s Entrepreneur Network, where she mentors young women aspiring to be entrepreneurs and urges men to be involved as well. “We [as women] need to educate people and create male allies, especially if we want to make a change around women in the workforce,” she explains. “There is no limit to our potential.”

She is also part of a global committee at Disability:IN, which works to create programs to leverage technology to ensure accommodation and best practices for engaging neurodiverse talent and people with disabilities. In addition, she regularly coaches and mentors underprivileged students in neighborhood schools.

2023 DE&I Influencers List