Commissioner Bratton hailed a batch of newly promoted NYPD captains on Friday as chosen “from the most diverse group probably in the modern history of the department,” part of an ongoing effort to increase racial and gender representation in the upper ranks of the department.

“The importance of the captains promotions, and captains being a diverse group, is leadership,” Bratton said. “Deputy inspectors, inspectors, [and] chiefs all come from that rank.”

The class of 17 newly minted captains featured particularly high numbers of women and African-Americans, Bratton said.

Officials couldn’t immediately provide an exact statistical breakdown of the group.

The class is a response to continuing calls by officers’ organizations and politicians to diversify the department, Bratton said.

“We have been advocating with our fraternal groups, all those calling for more representation in the leadership of the department: you have to work with us, you have to take those [promotion] exams, you have to study,” Bratton said. “So I think what you’re seeing today is reflective of that push to get more people into a promotion track.”

The increased focus on minority leadership comes amid the NYPD’s ongoing struggle to boost racial representation among its incoming academy classes.

Of a class of 678 new recruits sworn in earlier this month, just 12.5 percent were African-American — far short of the 23 percent Mayor de Blasio demanded earlier this year to match the city’s demographics.

De Blasio did note, however, that a department record 32 percent of the class is Hispanic.