AT&T Ranks No. 4 in DiversityInc's 12th Annual List

DALLAS, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DiversityInc has ranked AT&T* No. 4 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, among the record 587 companies that participated in this year's competition.  The ranking recognizes AT&T's longstanding commitment to driving innovation and growth by embedding diversity and inclusion in all its business practices.   AT&T has ranked among the top five companies in the prestigious list for the past four years.

"It's remarkable that a company this large has such consistently strong diversity efforts throughout all its locations," said Luke Visconti, CEO of DiversityInc.  "AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson is a role model for CEO commitment.

"AT&T executes diversity management better than any company its size and has built an incredibly inclusive culture. Having a line executive, Debbie Storey, in the chief diversity officer role is paying big dividends. The company is a long-time supplier diversity leader and spends almost twice as much of its total procurement with Tier 1 (direct contractor) minority- and women-owned vendors than the DiversityInc Top 50 average."

In other awards announced by DiversityInc, AT&T also ranked:

• No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity
• No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Blacks
• No. 5 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos
• No. 6 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention
• No. 8 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees
• No. 10 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities

"We are truly honored by DiversityInc's ranking, which recognizes our longstanding commitment to embedding diversity in our business at all our levels," said Storey – senior vice president Talent Development & chief diversity officer.  "We've long understood that best-in-class diversity management practices drive innovation and growth, and that by truly embracing our differences, we create new opportunities for our employees, our customers and our owners."

AT&T's broad commitment to diversity includes:

• A workforce that is 39 percent women and 39 percent people of color. 
• Supporting 11 active employee resource groups with tens of thousands of AT&T employee members. These organizations provide avenues for personal and professional development, mentoring, community involvement opportunities – and they work directly with the company to drive business success. 
• Surpassing, one year ahead of schedule, its aggressive goal of spending 21.5 percent of the company's total procurement budget with diversity suppliers. In 2011 AT&T achieved a 23 percent supplier diversity milestone by spending $12 billion with women, minority, and disabled-veteran owned enterprises.
• Unmatched career growth and development opportunities for management employees through its award-winning AT&T University's Leading with Distinction program.
• Working to help reverse the nation's alarming high school dropout rate through AT&T Aspire. Nearly one fourth of all students — and nearly 40 percent of African-American, Hispanic and Native American students — fail to graduate with their class. In March 2012, AT&T announced a new $250 million financial commitment planned over 5 years. This built on more than $100 million invested since 2008.
• A multicultural approach to marketing that recognizes the diversity of AT&T's customer base and that includes converting close to 800 stores to a bilingual concept nationwide to better serve the Hispanic Consumer Market, the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population.

To explore career opportunities at AT&T visit www.att.jobs.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

© 2012 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. Mobile broadband not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.