The WELL Equity Rating is a subset of strategies from the WELL Building Standard that empowers organizations to take action toward diversity, equity and inclusion goals while driving improvements in company culture and employee health. 

The WELL Equity Rating consists of 6 action areas containing 43 strategies. In addition, points are available for pursuing innovative solutions that have a positive impact on diversity, equity and inclusion.

The WELL Equity Rating and WELL v2 Certification are 100% aligned, which means organizations can apply achievements from one to the other. There are additional nuances for WELL v2 pilot and WELL v1–see our WELL Equity Rating alignment tool to learn more about how achievements translate from one milestone to another.

Upon successful achievement of the WELL Equity Rating, you will receive a seal that communicates to anyone entering the space that you’re building a place where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive, and a community and culture where everyone can feel welcome, seen and heard.

Resources

• WELL Equity Rating feasibility survey - determine if the WELL Equity Rating is the right fit for your organization
• WELL Rating gap analysis tool - if you have an existing WELL Certification project, use this tool to see how much work is left to achieve the Equity Rating

The WELL Equity Rating is for organizations interested in taking an action-based approach to creating people-first, equitable spaces.

Any organization with one or more physical locations can pursue the rating. Locations can be either an entire building or an interior space within a larger building.

Organizations that are 100% remote without a physical brick and mortar location may not enroll in the WELL Equity Rating. However, organizations that want to focus on organizational metrics and benchmarking can enroll under WELL at scale and create fictional locations that represent the strategies they implement to support remote workers. Many features are tied to organizational policies rather than a specific physical space, so the rating itself can be achieved in a remote work environment, but a physical space must be enrolled.

The WELL Equity Rating can be pursued either as a standalone achievement or as a milestone on the way to full WELL Certification. Organizations applying WELL at scale may also opt in to pursue the rating across individual properties or their entire organization.

Based on the WELL Building Standard, the WELL Equity Rating uses strategies backed by third-party verification to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

The WELL Equity Rating is based on third-party verification of a set of strategies designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across an organization. The rating is made up of more than 40 strategies divided into 6 action areas:

• User Experience and Feedback: Understand employee needs to inform policy and design interventions.
• Responsible Hiring and Labor Practices: Commit to responsible supply chains and hiring practices that engender a holistic culture of respect.
• Inclusive Design: Create accessible places that welcome people of all backgrounds and physical abilities.
• Health Benefits and Services: Extend access to healthcare, social services and other benefits that help your people thrive
• Supportive Programs and Spaces: Encourage your people to form healthy habits by designing inclusive, accessible environments that encourage exercise and nourishment, provide lactation support and offer restorative opportunities.
• Community Engagement: Support your community by volunteering time and resources and collaborating with underserved populations.

You must successfully implement at least 21 of these strategies to achieve the rating. There are no required strategies or minimums in each area–you may choose the strategies that best fit your organization.

The WELL Equity Rating is verified through a documentation review process. To achieve the rating, you will compile various types of documentation like policy documents, surveys and technical documents that demonstrate your organization’s compliance to the rating requirements.

Once your documentation has been compiled, you will undergo a third-party review process. The review process will take approximately 8-10 business days to complete for single locations and 20-25 for multiple locations.

Put your people first with a holistic, evidence-based approach to well-being for all.

The WELL Equity Rating is designed to help organizations put their people first by employing evidence-based, people-first strategies. The rating provides a framework to validate your organization’s commitment to improving access to health and well-being, celebrating diversity, prioritizing inclusivity and promoting sensitivity while addressing disparities in populations that have been traditionally underserved:

• BIPOC: An acronym for Black, Indigenous and other people of color

• First-generation immigrants: Have been (partially) socialized in a culture different from that of the residence country, have migration experience of their own, and have to adapt to a new social environment

• LGBTQ+: An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity

• People who are disabled: A person who is impaired or limited by a physical or developmental condition 

• People who are neurodivergent: A person whose neurocognitive functioning diverges from dominant societal norms

• Primary caregivers: A person mainly responsible for caring for a child, dependent, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild or sibling

Diverse organizations perform better

• Healthier organization. Healthier bottom line. Put your people first with a holistic, evidence-based approach to delivering well-being for all.

• The most valuable resource is human. Invest in your people. Empower your business. Prioritize health. 

• Put people at the center of your ESG strategy: Diversity, equity and inclusion is a key component of enhancing human and social capital reporting and performance. 

• Progress demands a roadmap: Make headway on your ESG goals by incorporating evidence-based strategies for prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Reimagine how workplaces are designed to help people thrive

• Empathy in action: Transform how workplaces are designed, managed and maintained to create environments where everyone can thrive and show up as their full selves. 

• Lay a new foundation for health and well-being: Provide all of your people with the tools to perform at their peak and feel their best. 

• Change starts from within: Play a part in remedying long-standing societal inequities by giving every employee what they need to thrive.

• DEI goes beyond policies and protocols: WELL strategies can transform the places where you work to help provide every person with an equal opportunity to thrive. Get started today. 

Enrolling new or existing projects (registered or certified) for the WELL Performance Rating is easy—just follow this step-by-step guide below.  

1. Log into or create your WELL account.
2. Click the Projects button at the top of the page, then select WELL Equity on the dropdown menu.
3. Click “Start a new project” then “Enroll now” at the top right of the page.
4. Provide the information requested on the Tell us about your organization page, then click Continue.
5. Enter the number and size of the locations you want to enroll, then click continue. 
6. View the price quote with relevant discounts applied.
7. Review and sign the program terms and conditions; confirm public enrollment status.
8. Complete your enrollment by submitting payment: you can pay by credit card, or generate/download an invoice. You can also edit your billing address details.

If you would like to pursue the WELL Equity Rating at an existing WELL Certification project or WELL at scale account, you should opt in by navigating to your existing project and clicking WELL Equity in the left-side menu. This ensures access to coaching support, sample documents and billing history, while enabling relevant discounts to be applied automatically.

Once you’ve enrolled your project, we recommend you:

• Review the strategies that make up the WELL Equity Rating
• Personalize your WELL Equity Rating scorecard by selecting which features your project intends to pursue.