es 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 males who were as qualified or more qualified were passed over due to the override function in the consent decree (Fullinwider 289). Because of this there were several instances where quality and customer service decreased for a time while new hires sometimes struggled to fulfill their duties. Additionally, there were several reverse discrimination lawsuits in which damages were awarded to white males who had been passed over for a promotion in favor of females (289). Although the consent decree expired in 1979, AT&T chose to keep most
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