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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Major U.S. companies have increasingly removed explicit diversity criteria from board appointments, with 61 S&P 100 companies dropping such provisions since 2023, including Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Starbucks, and Wells Fargo. The retreat has accelerated over the past year amid the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle DEI programs, with several companies also removing diversity requirements from chief executive succession policies. The proportion of companies using Rooney Rule-style provisions has fallen to 12% from 58% over the past year, according to executive recruiter Spencer Stuart, while women accounted for 29% of new S&P 500 directors this year, down from 46% in 2023. Companies are also increasingly turning to former CEOs for board seats, with this group accounting for 37% of new directors. More than 30 major companies continue to maintain explicit diversity criteria.
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Human Times
UK
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said nurses are collapsing at work due to extreme heat in buildings that are unfit for record temperatures. The RCN said its members have reported temperatures in excess of 30C in UK hospital wards and care homes, where there is often no access to air conditioning, fans or even to windows that open. Hospitals and social care buildings are “utterly unprepared for extreme temperatures,” Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said. “It’s becoming an impossible and inhumane place to work or receive care.” Yvette Cooper, the health and social care secretary, has said the NHS needs to make sure buildings are more resilient in extreme heat conditions.
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Human Times
Europe
Swedish trade union IF Metall is calling off its three-year dispute with Tesla after the carmaker bought out all the union's striking members at the company. "This means that the conflict no longer has any effect," the union said. The dispute started in October 2023 when Tesla mechanics went on strike as the union demanded collective agreements with the automaker, which does not have manufacturing facilities in Sweden, but whose electric cars are serviced by IF Metall union members. "We can conclude that Tesla is so strongly opposed to collective agreements that they would rather buy out employees who are members of the union than give them safe conditions," IF Metall observed.
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Human Times
Middle East
Research from Optro indicates that many organisations are rapidly integrating AI agents into their operations, but often without adequate governance frameworks. The report, titled When AI Leaves the Chat and Enters the Workflow, highlights that one in three organisations use AI in critical workflows, yet nearly 30% have never tested for potential failures. “The reality today is that agentic AI adoption is fast outpacing governance,” said Guru Sethupathy, GM of AI Governance at Optro. “But to harness its potential responsibly, leaders must recognize that governance models designed for static manual processes cannot keep pace with autonomous systems of action.”
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