Microsoft is touting a "returnship" program that hires women from diverse backgrounds who have taken time off to raise children or to care for family members. The program, part of Microsoft's LEAP diversity initiative, recruits women and minorities who are self-taught coders or who are graduates of coding boot camps.

BASF has shifted from passive recruitment to empowering recruiters to be proactive, think beyond immediate needs and build relationships within the company, talent manager Yana Kogan says. Fellow talent manager Bill Plastine says: "It wasn't like we weren't interacting with hiring managers and business leaders prior to the transformation, but oftentimes there was a lot left to be desired."

Men and women of color are 25% and 19%, respectively, less likely than white men to receive a pay increase, according to a PayScale study. Rationale for denial varies between men and women, highlighting a need for training and technology to prevent conscious and unconscious bias, experts say.

An analysis of the latest jobs report from the US Department of Labor shows that, over the past year, 9 out of 10 new jobs created were filled by someone with a college degree. Another study from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce showed that employers seeking to replace retiring baby boomers are demanding more skills from new workers.

HR leaders are weighing in on lessons companies can learn about unfair power dynamics from the relationship between former President Bill Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Companies need policies that discourage relationships between bosses and subordinates to avoid abuse of power and questions about consent if a relationship ends, experts say.