In a benchmarking exercise that assessed the company’s gender and race diversity practices, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has been named as a top-10 private sector employer by responsible business charity Business in the Community.

Based on the results of the UK’s most comprehensive benchmarking survey into how organisations are performing on gender and race equality in the workplace, the award places Enterprise among the 10 most diverse businesses in the UK.

The organisation was assessed against a range of key areas, including career progression, recruitment, senior management and board representation of women and ethnic minorities, as well as supplier diversity and diversity in customer relationships.

Leigh Lafever-Ayer, UK & Ireland HR Director for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said: “Enterprise is very proud to be recognised as one of the most progressive companies to work for in terms of equality. We firmly believe that being a diverse employer makes us far stronger as a business and that our company demographics should mirror the communities in which we operate. Diversity helps us to attract and retain talent, which, in turn, improves our performance and customer service.”

Kathryn Nawrockyi, Director of Opportunity Now, said: “Congratulations to Enterprise Rent-A-Car – being named as one of the top 10 organisations on progression of women is an excellent achievement and they should be very proud. The work they have done highlights how all employers can take steps to improve gender equality in their workforce, and I hope that other organisations will learn from their example to help us achieve a true gender balance.”

Sandra Kerr OBE, Campaign Director of Race for Opportunity, said: “In modern Britain, where one in four primary school children is from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background and one in eight of the workforce is BAME, it’s unsustainable that just one in 16 business leaders is from an ethnic minority. Race for Opportunity aims to square the pyramid so there are role models to inspire this generation, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car is helping to do just that. I congratulate them for making a strong commitment to improve the ethnic diversity of their workforce and all the effort and hard work they’ve put in.”