FEATURES
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Posted Mar 13, 2009
 Now that the mergers of AT&T, SBC Communications, Bell South and Cingular have been successfully integrated, AT&T has re-emerged as the national diversity champion it should be. The company's long history as a national supplier-diversity leader and as a major recruiter of Blacks, Latinos, Asians and LGBT people make it very worthy of this high spot on the list. |
 Chairman, CEO and President Randall Stephenson is a vocal proponent of the business case for diversity, from a prominent quote on the corporate giant's web site to his recent elevation to chairman of the NAACP Corporate Centennial Campaign. While Chief Diversity Officer Cindy Brinkley does not report directly to Stephenson, she has constant access to him and tells us his "door is always open for diversity issues." Stephenson personally chairs the company's internal diversity council, which meets quarterly.
The company's work force is as diverse as the U.S. customer base its serves. Employees are 39 percent Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian, while new hires are 49 percent Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian, demonstrating significant progress. Managers reflect this racial/ethnic diversity as well, since 30 percent of the company's managers are Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian. Even in these difficult times, the company demonstrates unbiased retention of its employees and managers, meaning it retains people at the same level, regardless of race/ethnicity or gender.
AT&T is a very strong communicator of its belief in diversity. The company gets a perfect score for the way it displays diversity on its corporate web site. AT&T also has 10 very strong employee-resource groups, which have the full support of senior management. They are: APCA (Asian/Pacific Islanders for Professional and Community Advancement), AT&T Veterans, Community NETwork (African American Telecommunications Professionals of AT&T); FACES (Filipino-American Communications Employees of AT&T); The Hispanic/Latino Employee Association of AT&T (HACEMOS); ICAE (Inter-Tribal Council of AT&T Employees); IDEAL (Individuals With Disabilities Enabling Advocacy Link); LEAGUE (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered United Employees at AT&T); OASIS (Organization of Asian Indians); and WOA (Women of AT&T).
The company also continues to be a leader in supplier diversity, a diversity discipline that really started with the telecoms. The company spends 9.6 percent of its total procurement with Tier I suppliers (direct contractors) who are minority- or women-owned businesses. The head of supplier diversity reports to the head of procurement, and AT&T has 16 employees dedicated to its supplier-diversity efforts. The company also provides mentoring and financial assistance/education for its diverse suppliers. |
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Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman, CEO and President
"Focusing on diversity and inclusion has been a key part of AT&T's success for more than a century--and it will continue to be integral to growing our business. We include diversity in everything we do from serving our customers in their native language to giving back to diverse communities with our education initiatives and ensuring our employee base reflects the communities in which we operate. We also have a proven record of commitment to supplier diversity, which includes being one of only 15 corporations that qualify as a member of the prestigious Billion Dollar Roundtable, an elite group of corporations that spends more than $1 billion annually with diverse companies." |
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Cindy Brinkley, Senior Vice President, Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer
"We know that diverse, talented and dedicated people are critical to AT&T's success. Investing in a well-educated diverse work force may be the single most important thing we can do to help America remain the leader in a digital, global economy. We're investing considerable time and resources today to develop tomorrow's leaders--with a committed eye toward ensuring those leaders bring different backgrounds, views and experiences to their positions." |
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Specialty Lists
- No. 7 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Recruitment & Retention
- No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for African Americans
- No. 8 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for LGBT Employees
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Industry
Telecom
Main Competitors
Verizon Communications, Qwest, Sprint
U.S. Headquarters
Dallas |
Number of U.S. Employees
297,705
Annual Revenue
$124 billion
% of Operations Outside U.S.
N/A |
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