AT&T Named as One of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise Magazine

AT&T Was Included on the List for its Demonstrated Strength in the Areas of Employee Base and Supplier Diversity

Dallas, Texas.-AT&T* today announced that it has been named as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine, a premier publication and resource for African-Americans focusing on business, entrepreneurship, careers and financial management.

The 2009 40 Best Companies for Diversity were determined by analyzing responses from a survey administered to major corporations, which consisted of a comprehensive outreach effort to the CEOs and diversity executives of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies, as well as the diversity executives of the 50 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations.

The survey, which focused on activities related to the participation of African-Americans, measured companies in one or more of four key categories: board representation, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity. AT&T was recognized for its strengths in the areas of employee base and supplier diversity. This is the fourth year that AT&T has been included among Black Enterprise’s Best Companies for Diversity.

“We are proud to be recognized once again for our unwavering commitment to diversity in the workplace and marketplace,” said Cindy Brinkley, AT&T chief diversity officer. “Our global, diverse supply chain along with our diverse, talented workforce enables us to better serve our customers, employees, business partners and communities.”

This honor from Black Enterprise comes on the heels of other recognitions that AT&T has received this year. Recent honors for AT&T in the area of diversity include:

* No. 2 among DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity for commitment to diversity in the workplace and marketplace.
* No. 1 among DiversityInc’s Top 10 Companies for African-Americans for long-term commitment to hiring, retaining, compensating and promoting African Americans.
* No. 1 among DiversityBusiness.com’s Top Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities for the consistency and quality of business opportunities granted to minority- and women-owned companies.
* Company of the Year by LATINA Style for best meeting the workplace needs deemed most important by LATINA Style’s Hispanic female readers.

Earlier this year, AT&T senior executives Ray Wilkins, Jr. and Mike Hamilton were included on Black Enterprise’s list of 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America for their exemplary individual and collective leaderships in the areas of product development.

AT&T’s 50-state workforce is 44 percent female and 39 percent people of color. In 2008, AT&T spent over $6 billion with diverse suppliers, which represents 12 percent of AT&T’s total procurement with minority, women and disabled veterans business enterprises (M/WBE-DVBEs). In fostering diversity and inclusion, AT&T has created a better business environment, which has made the company an employer of choice, a preferred business partner and an important contributor to the community.

The special report on the best companies for diversity is featured in the July 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine. The full list of the Black Enterprise 40 Best Companies for Diversity is available by visiting www.blackenterprise.com/diversity/diversity-list-2009-companies.