Ford Highlighted As A Top Performer In New Benchmarking Report On Race And Diversity

Ford Motor Company Limited has been highlighted as a top performer in a new major benchmarking report on race and diversity in corporate Britain.

Ford came top in the "Manufacturing" sector of the companies benchmarked, and was fourth overall among all private companies benchmarked in the report.

"I'm very pleased that Ford has done so well in the benchmarking exercise and has proved to be a leader in racial equality and diversity in Britain," said Tony Burnett from Ford's European diversity team, speaking at the report launch event in London.

"Ford is tackling diversity through wide-ranging actions that encompass all areas of the company and that have a positive impact on our employees, suppliers and customers. We understand that diversity is a competitive advantage, helping the company to be more innovative and customer-focussed in the market place".

"While we're pleased with our performance, we will not be resting on our laurels. There's still much work to do, especially in the areas of recruitment and retention."

Published today, the report - "Race: Creating Business Value" - draws on a comprehensive survey of members of Race for Opportunity (RfO), the business network of UK organisations working on race and diversity as a business agenda. It provides a detailed picture of current activity in this area as well as the latest trends and developments, identifying top performers by industry sector.

The survey shows that despite the fact the organisations surveyed in the public and private sectors employ almost three million people, only 44 ethnic minority individuals currently hold posts at the most senior level, with no black or other ethnic minority chief executives in any of the private sector organisations.

Nevertheless, the research shows that significant investment is being made across the board in developing and retaining ethnic minority employees and customers as Britain’s major employers, including Ford, increasingly tackle race equality in the workplace.