Is your unconscious bias rejecting neurodivergent job applicants?
Think about how your team would respond to a jobseeker’s request to accommodate their neurodivergence. Would they assume that the applicant can’t do the job or will not fit in?
For many neurodivergent jobseekers, disclosure feels risky. They worry that talking about their neurodivergence could cost them the role – or worse, lead to discrimination once they are hired. And sadly, they would often be right.
According to research by Zurich last year, half of neurodivergent jobseekers have been discriminated against during the hiring process and 47% feel unable to disclose their neurodivergence to hiring employers.
Unconscious bias around what it means to be neurodivergent is still widespread and the ‘neurodivergent’ label can trigger assumptions – about capability, reliability and ‘fit’. But those assumptions are often rooted in outdated stereotypes, not modern research or reality.
What is the reality of being neurodivergent?
For me, it's always helped me to be a bit of a dynamo at work. My divergent thinking enables me to keep lots of balls in the air and move with agility between projects and tasks. I am good at leading multiple streams of work and people, while connecting the dots that others may not always see. Generally, I think I make things happen!
My mantra as a teenager was “where there’s a will, there’s a way” – even when it felt like there was a mountain ahead of me. I didn’t always find things easy to follow or understand growing up, but I always knew I would find a way to figure them out.
Grit and resilience are often second nature for neurodivergent people – shaped by years of navigating systems not built for our brains and constantly adapting to fit in.
When I experienced a serious neck injury in 2022, pressure-productivity kicked in. I did some of my best work that year, including leading an award-winning campaign, while in a neck brace. Running (my go-to dopamine boost) was suddenly not an option, but I adapted fast. I hired an exercise bike and kept moving. Exercise isn’t just a good-to-do when you have ADHD, it’s one of the most important things you can do.
Living with late diagnosed ADHD has had its challenges. It’s shown up for me as perfectionism, a relentless drive to prove myself, and an ‘off’ switch that I am only now learning to use.
Inclusion drives innovation
Companies with inclusive cultures are six times more likely to be innovative and eight times more likely to deliver better business outcomes (Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report). What’s more, teams with neurodivergent professionals can be up to 30% more productive than those without them (Deloitte Insights 2023).
Why is that? Because neurodivergent people can bring energy and pace; they work with intensity and speed. They challenge the status quo. They ask the tough but important questions. And they help teams throw away the rulebook if that means making things better.
As Sara Kelly, an ADHD Coach, wrote recently, high-functioning women with ADHD often succeed because of their neurodivergence – not in spite of it. Hyperfocus, creativity, passion and problem-solving abilities are often the traits that fuel their career progression.
But that doesn’t mean that they don’t face invisible challenges or that their ask for support isn’t valid.
So, a tough but important question
If someone asked for accommodations to support their neurodivergence at interview, how would your team respond? Would you assume they can’t do the job? That they wouldn’t fit in?
Because while a neurodivergent person may do the job differently to their neurotypical teammates – they could also be your best hire yet.
It’s time to talk about neurodiversity
If your organisation or agency isn’t talking about neurodiversity, now is the time.
Think about how you support neurodivergent colleagues to work with their brains, not against them. And ask yourself if someone with ADHD, autism, or dyslexia would make it through your hiring processes. If they would be filtered out, you are missing out on a huge pool of talent – people whose strengths are highly beneficial and well suited to the fast-paced and demanding world of communications.
If you’ve got lived experience of neurodivergence or you’re keen to champion neurodiversity in the PR and marketing industries, please email me - it would be great to hear from you
Chartered marketer Sarah Ion is director of marketing at the CIPR.
Read more from Sarah
Six practical ways to create a more neuroinclusive workplace
Building an inclusive future: How can we put allyship into action?