Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has quietly dismantled much of its public DEI information over the past several months.

With roughly 138,000 employees worldwide, J&J made a $100 million diversity pledge in 2020, but like many corporations that were previously committed to DEI, it appears to have backtracked. In April, J&J deleted its DEI landing page, and scrubbed several other indicators of the company’s diversity and health equality efforts.

The page, which stated, “Johnson & Johnson is an innovation-based company, and diversity is at the root of innovation,” now redirects visitors to a watered-down Inclusion landing site.

J&J also appears to have rebranded its employee resource groups (ERGs) to “employee business resource groups” earlier this year, removing language about wellness, hiring diverse talent, and employee leadership opportunities.

For more on what happened at J&J and how it continues a broader trend, keep reading here.—KP

Benchmark venture capitalist Victor Lazarte made headlines after suggesting on the Twenty Minute VC podcast that AI is coming for white-collar jobs like lawyers and recruiters.

“One thing that I think is super exciting right now is just replacing people,” Lazarte told podcast host Harry Stebbings. “It sounds really bad when you say it this way, but I actually think it’s the most exciting opportunity in venture right now.”

Lazarte suggested that AI interviews could be more efficient than human ones and added that tech investment into hiring can showcase improvements in talent acquisition with data, and that data can, in turn, help companies adjust their models to continually improve outcomes.

While recruiters and talent acquisition pros are not strangers to automation and new AI tools, whether those tools prove valuable enough to replace humans remains unseen. HR Brew spoke with recruiters and talent acquisition experts, and asked for their insights into the possibility of a fully automated recruitment process.

For more on what the future of AI means for recruiting, keep reading here.—AD

Parental leave is becoming more prevalent in the US, with more employers providing paid time off so workers can bond with a new child.

While this is a welcome development for employees with families, it also creates additional complexities for managers, who have to figure out how work will get done when team members are absent for months at a time.

Announcing a parental leave can be a “love ‘em or leave ‘em moment” for workers, so it’s critical for employers to respond the right way, said Sarah Olin, CEO and co-founder of LUMO, a parental leave consultancy.

“The single biggest determinant around leaves is culture, not policy,” she said. “If your culture isn’t strong, if your managers aren’t skilled, it’s going to be a hard time for everyone, and you’re ultimately going to lose people.”

For more ways to ensure things run smoothly when employees are on parental leave, keep reading here.—CV