With the power of technology and legal clout, many experts agree that 2017 could be the tipping point in the global battle against human trafficking and modern slavery.

From hand-crafted boutique brands to high-volume manufacturing and assembly, dedicated U.S. bicycle makers are reshoring bike production to the U.S. A confluence of factors including rising offshore costs, the benefits of a "local for local" business strategy, the growing popularity of bikes in expanding urban areas and patriotism are giving rise to new opportunities for an "old" mode of transportation.

Asos Plc, Britain's largest online-only fashion retailer, plans to double its U.K. manufacturing as the pound's post-Brexit plunge makes domestic production more affordable.

The "skills gap" is a problem that manufacturers have been working to address for much of the past decade: new accreditation programs, expanding training curricula and updated certification standards have had some positive effects in filling the gap. But those approaches are based on addressing manufacturers' needs, emphasizing employment opportunities and other practical advantages. Addressing the issue from the employees' point of view may require more "passion."

KnowTheChain has launched a ranking of 20 large apparel and footwear companies on their efforts to eradicate forced labor and human trafficking from their supply chains, finding that only a small group of companies seriously addresses exploitation. Most companies have systems in place to monitor and react to forced labor and human trafficking, but few companies address systemic causes, the human rights group says.

The heads of Bank of America Corp., American Electric Power Co., Coca-Cola Co. and 24 more large global companies have pledged to boost the number of women in their top ranks to parity with men by 2030.

Automation - in the form of machine learning, robotics, autonomous vehicles, white-collar bots, exoskeletons, and so on - is changing the nature of work in a wide range of industries. Author Vinnie Mirchandani in conducting research for his new book, Silicon Collar: An Optimistic Perspective on Humans, Machines, and Jobs (Deal Architect, 2016), he examined people at work in more than 50 settings: accounting firms and banks, the battlefront and digital agencies, the oil patch and restaurants, R&D labs and shop floors, warehouses and wineries. And it is clear that the old divisions among professions and trades have dissolved. We're no longer white- or blue-collar workers. We're all silicon-collar workers, because technology is reshaping all our workplaces.

California is at the epicenter of some of the most fundamental changes Donald Trump has proposed for the national economy, in trade and immigration. About 40 percent of all goods arriving in the United States by sea come through the state's ports. And more than a quarter of all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. live in California, many of them working in agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing.