The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has released a new rating system called WELL Equity Rating aimed at helping “organizations act on their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals, and improve company culture and employee health,” according to a press release from IWBI.
WELL Equity Rating includes 40 features spanning six action areas: user experience and feedback, responsible hiring and labor practices, inclusive design, health benefits and services, supportive programs and spaces, and community engagement.
“Organizations worldwide are embracing the powerful role place can play in leveling the playing field and ensuring everyone feels welcome, seen and heard,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, IWBI, in a release. “Many organizations have made commitments to DEI, but precious few have a roadmap for activation. The WELL Equity Rating is a transformative new offering that empowers organizations to make good on their promises— with evidence-based strategies and actions that improve and strengthen company culture, advance DEI goals and address disparities in underserved populations."
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are an absolutely essential core value for any organization, including the facility management department. In a March 2020 Building Operating Management article about diversity, equity, and inclusion in facility management, Naomi Millan writes, “Good intentions are not good enough because humans are clannish and tribal and we're kind of terrible about being inclusive to the ‘other,’ no matter what we tell ourselves.”
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
