Welltower Signs the UN Women's Empowerment Principles

TOLEDO, Ohio, Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL), a leading provider of health care infrastructure, today announced that it has joined a global group of over 2,000 business organizations taking a leadership stance on gender equality by signing the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. Formulated as a collaboration between UN Women and UN Global Compact, the seven Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) set a road map for best practices by elaborating the gender dimension of corporate responsibility and the role of business in sustainable development. 

"We at Welltower strongly promote equality and inclusion in our leadership and across our organization," said Tom DeRosa, Welltower's Chief Executive Officer. "By partnering with leading organizations who have signed this pledge, including the World Bank Group, PepsiCo and Microsoft Corporation, we demonstrate our ongoing commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment."

In addition to signing the WEPs, Welltower has taken the following actions towards gender equality:

• Signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusiontm, joining leaders such as American Express, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson, who pledge to actively support a more inclusive workplace.
• In 2018, 45% of hires to revenue generating roles were female. Revenue generating roles constitute Welltower's Business Development, Investments, Strategy and Capital Markets teams.
• Consistently recognized by 2020 Women on Boards for promoting gender diversity.
• Recently appointed two national health care executives to the Board of Directors, increasing female Independent Director leadership to 36%.

About Welltower
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL), an S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. The company invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower^®, a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing, post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties. More information is available at www.welltower.com.

About UN Women's Empowerment Principles
The UN Women's Empowerment Principles are the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact and are adapted from the Calvert Women's Principles®. Subtitled Equality Means Business, the Principles emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women's empowerment and are informed by real-life business practices and input gathered from across the globe. The Women's Empowerment Principles seek to point the way to best practices by elaborating the gender dimension of corporate responsibility, the UN Global Compact, and business' role in sustainable development. As well as being a useful guide for business, the Principles seek to inform other stakeholders, including governments, in their engagement with business. More information is available at www.weprinciples.org

SOURCE Welltower Inc.