Bellsouth Diversity Plan

Bellsouth: Diversity Plan

Bellsouth has a philosophy of how they have exceeded their diversity plan of action for employees. It is stated as follows 1. "Bellsouth has a rich heritage of diversity spanning all aspects of our business. We believe that diversity- and fostering an inclusive workforce- is not only the right thing to do, it is also critical to maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace".

"At Bellsouth, we define diversity as the characteristics that make one individual different from another. However, with a focus on inclusion, at Bellsouth we strive to take diversity a step further. Inclusion is a business approach that embraces these diverse characteristics in a way that engages all employees at all levels, fostering both individual success as well as the success of the company".

"From a business perspective, we believe a diverse workplace enriches our environment and leads to greater creativity, improved leadership effectiveness, a more fulfilling employee experience, greater customer satisfaction and ultimately, increased value to our shareholders".

"Our commitment to diversity also reaches into the communities we serve. That commitment is reflected in all business activities, including marketing and advertising, purchasing, recruiting, service deployment and of course, our philanthropic involvement".

"Bellsouth values and has dedicated itself to build upon its legacy of diversity. We will continue to strive to be a leader in the areas of diversity and inclusion- in our workplace, in our marketplace, and our communities". (http://bellsouth.mediaroom.com/page15)

2."The Diversity Organization of Bellsouth commitment has existed for a while and Bellsouth has intensified the effort over the past few years as proven by the following:

Creation of the Chairman's Diversity Council

Appointment of our first Chief Diversity Officer

Formation of the Office of Diversity

The Chairman's Diversity Council was created in 1997 and is led by Bellsouth's Chairman and CEO and has many company officers. Bellsouth works to keep an up rise for diversity and awareness with the company, and serves as the governance body for diversity efforts at Bellsouth. Bellsouth also makes recommendations to Bellsouth Board of Directors on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Many efforts of the Chairman's Diversity Council include the appointment of the Chief Diversity Officer for the company, the sanctioning and sponsorship of Employee Networking Groups, and the establishment of diversity goals for Bellsouth.

Valencia Adams is the Bellsouth's Chief Diversity Officer, in which she leads the Office of Diversity has developed the company's diversity and inclusion strategies company-wide. She works closely with the Chairman's Diversity Council and crosses all functional areas and business units, including advertising and marketing, purchasing deployment of services and philanthropic efforts. Adams sponsors and works with Employee Networking Groups and serves as a central repository for benchmarking diversity excellence. She also works both internally and externally to build Bellsouth's established reputation as a diversity leader. She develops and implements employee training on diversity and inclusion. The definition of inclusion is a business approach that embraces respecting and engaging all employees at all levels of our company, fostering both individual success, as well as the success of the company". (http://bellsouth.mediaroom.com/index.page 16)

3.Bellsouth have dedicated to sustaining a work environment where talent