AT&T Receives Top Honor for Multicultural Business Support

February 11, 2009

By Mike Peters

AT&T has been ranked number one in DiversityBusiness.com's 2008 list of the Top Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities, also known as the Div50. This is the third straight year AT&T has topped the list. AT&T will be honored at a special awards ceremony at DiversityBusiness.com's Multicultural Business Conference in late April.

AT&T Commitment to Diversity Leads to Top Honors for Third Consecutive Year

This year's Div50 was selected with help from more than 650,000 minority- and women-owned businesses in the U.S. that represent sectors such as technology, manufacturing, food service, and professional services. The award is based on such factors as the volume, consistency, and quality of business opportunities that a company grants to women- and minority-owned suppliers. It is a leading indicator of which organizations provide the best and the most business for diversity-owned companies. The list is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural business-to-business (B-to-B) website that links large organizational buyers to multicultural product and service suppliers.

"AT&T's commitment to diversity is and will always be part of the way we choose to do business," said Tim Harden, president of supply chain and fleet operations for AT&T Services, Inc. "We understand that we have to be reflective of our diverse customer base and employee base to deliver the best products and services. We're honored to receive this recognition for the third consecutive year and look forward to continuing our legacy of strengthening our supply chain by fully including minority-, women-, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises. They bring us better business solutions for our customers and help make us a better company."

AT&T Celebrates 40 Years of Supplier Diversity Programs

Last year, AT&T celebrated 40 years of supplier diversity excellence. Established in 1968, its supplier diversity programs are designed to promote, increase, and improve the quality of the overall participation of minority-, women-, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises in the supply chain. The supplier diversity leadership has helped launch several best practices for supply chain inclusion. In 1989, the company was one of the first to implement a formalized second-tier program, which has been effective in broadening the spectrum of opportunities for diverse suppliers within telecommunications and other industries.