Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March 17–23, 2025) is a time to recognise and celebrate the skills and unique perspectives that neurodivergent employees bring to the workplace. While raising awareness of these strengths is essential, it’s equally important to acknowledge and address the challenges and barriers they often face.
This week, we challenge organisations to reflect on their commitment to neuro-inclusion by considering three critical questions:
Are your recruitment processes fair for neurodivergent individuals?
Poorly designed recruitment processes can often sift out talented job candidates and can often affect neurodivergent candidates trying to apply for roles. At Pearn Kandola, in our Neurodiversity at Work (2024) research, 48% of neurodivergent employees told us they did not believe recruitment processes were fair. A key concern was that these processes are often based on neurotypical assumptions, failing to accommodate the diverse ways neurodivergent individuals think and behave.
To create fairer and more inclusive hiring practices, organisations should proactively consider neurodivergent candidates’ needs. This could include asking about required adjustments, listing only essential qualifications in job adverts, and clearly outlining the recruitment process for candidates.
Are you educating your employees on neurodiversity?
Despite the growing interest in the topic of neurodiversity, our research at Pearn Kandola found that many neurodivergent employees were still fearful of the biases and judgments that others may hold about neurodivergent individuals. They were fearful about the impact this would have on their career and how others would treat them once they found out they were neurodivergent.
We can all hold biases, both consciously and unconsciously, and it can affect how we view and treat others. However, being aware of biases and learning more about the topic is a great first step to eliminating them. Therefore, organisations should consider if and how they are educating and raising awareness – and whether they are doing enough to challenge ingrained biases to truly celebrate neurodivergent individuals.
Are you actively supporting your neurodivergent employees’ needs?
Some neurodivergent employees may require support or adjustments to help them in their role. These are usually individual to the person, but common adjustments include being able to work from home, being able to take breaks or having information presented in specific ways.
From our research we found that 42% of neurodivergent employees don’t feel comfortable asking for support and 1 in 3 aren’t getting the support they need. The findings indicate that organisations are not proactively engaging with employees to understand their support needs, nor are they fostering psychologically safe environments where employees feel comfortable requesting assistance without fear of judgment or negative consequences.
Commit to lasting change
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is not just about recognition; it’s an opportunity to commit to lasting change. By ensuring fair recruitment practices, raising awareness about neurodiversity, and offering meaningful support, organisations can create inclusive workplaces where all employees feel valued and empowered.
Neurodiversity Workshops + Webinars
At Pearn Kandola we offer a range of training to support organisations to both raise awareness and implement change to better support neurodivergent talent, from intial candidate attraction and recruitment to supporting them to thrive at work.
To request information please fill in the form below.
