much more segregated than when compared to the national average (286). Additionally, minority men were typically allotted the poorer paying jobs, or, like the women, were paid less when in similar positions as a white male (286). These practices were challenged in 1970 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) when AT&T applied to the Federal Communications Commission to increase its long distance rates and by 1973 the consent decree was established.
The ultimate goal of the decree was to have the same percentage of minorities employed as was represented in the local population. For women, this meant an average goal of 38 percent of the workforce in those job classifications where women were underrepresented (Fullinwider 287). Sometimes this meant that the need or demand of the promotion and hiring goals outstripped the availability of qualified candidates. In such cases, hiring freezes were often put into place until a candidate of the required minority status could be found (291). In addition, there was an affirmative action override in hiring candidates. This meant that, many times, in considering two candidates for a position, for example one a white male and the other a female, the job would be awarded to the woman, even if their education, experience, credentials, and training were not equal to or better than the other candidateÆs (288).
Since 1973 there have been great gains in establishing a workforce that more closely represents the make up of the population, however there are challenges as well. In 1976, two thirds of those promoted were women and many white m
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