ATLANTA, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSouth Corporation has finished first among companies surveyed in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) 2005 Telecommunications Industry Report Card.
BellSouth Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Valencia Adams was at the NAACP's 96th annual convention to accept the recognition on behalf of BellSouth. "We are extremely pleased to finish with the top score this year and will continue in our pursuit of excellence," she said. "As a long-time supporter of the NAACP, BellSouth's leadership understands the importance of this organization and its mission to champion political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons throughout our communities and the world," she added.
The NAACP graded the telecommunications companies in five general areas relating to diversity in the industry: employment, advertising and marketing spending, service deployment, vendor relations and charitable giving.
The survey results were announced yesterday during the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee. BellSouth is providing a webcast, as it has for the past several years, of key speeches and events from the annual convention. Rebroadcasts are available at: http://www.bellsouth.com/.
Over the years, BellSouth has also received several prestigious awards honoring the company's commitment to inclusion and diversity. Black Enterprise magazine named BellSouth to its 2005 list of the "30 Best Companies for Diversity." For the second consecutive year, Computerworld magazine has named BellSouth to its list of "Top 10 Companies for Diversity." DiversityBusiness.com selected BellSouth as one of "America's Top Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities" for the third straight year, and for six consecutive years, Fortune included BellSouth on its best places to work for minorities listing.
About BellSouth
Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in the market. Through BellSouth Answers(R), residential and small business customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial-up and high-speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and directory advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.com(R) and The Real Yellow Pages(R).
BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace. More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com/.
