Neurodiversity and Employment: Podcast Features Bruyère
One in five people in the United States identifies as having autism or another neurodivergent condition, according to various data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In response, creative employers are implementing innovative ideas for attracting, hiring and retaining neurodivergent employees. Their goal is to attract exceptional talent, and to cultivate a workplace culture that not only welcomes but engages and empowers this talent.
“The driver is need for talent. …it’s always true that businesses are looking for the very best talent imaginable to meet strategic imperatives, and it’s never been truer than now.”
– Susanne Bruyère
Susanne Bruyère, academic director of the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, discussed neurodiversity in the workplace in a Cornell Keynotes podcast with host Chris Wofford on July 30, 2024. The interview focuses on why more companies now have affirmative hiring practices for people with a neurodivergent condition – such as autism – and how companies are enhancing their cultures and stages of employment to ensure that neurodivergent employees can thrive.
The interview, “Neurodiversity at Work: Inclusion Policies and Practices,” is available from its Cornell Keynotes page, and a transcript is available.
The interview caught the attention of the Cornell Chronicle, which published Cornell Keynotes podcast: Neurodiversity inclusion policies and practices at work, by Torie Anderson. The article includes an excerpt from the podcast, saying:
Wofford: “Why is a growing number of companies designing and implementing affirmative hiring practices to recruit individuals who are neurodivergent or autistic?”
Bruyère: “The driver is need for talent. I mean it’s always true that businesses are looking for the very best talent imaginable to meet their strategic imperative, and it's never been more true than now.
“We've seen over the past 10 years, in some cases longer, but particularly the tech sector seemed to take an ardent interest about 10 years ago, there were leaders like SAP, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and others that [recognized] certain characteristics . . . like the ability to see patterns. Great for data, great for cybersecurity, great for accounting anomalies. Prolonged focus. These are amazing characteristics for certain jobs. And then an ardent search for the talent that had these characteristics began in certain sectors. Those skill sets and others in the population of neurodivergent and autistic individuals can apply to many jobs in many sectors.
“What I would encourage people to think about is just raising awareness that this is a population that can be a talent source, that the community often has representation in it that you can align with, and also look at how to establish some naturally occurring communities within your workforce to help understand who's interested and what place would they like to serve in raising visibility about this, like employee resource or affinity groups – great place to start that conversation.”
Bruyère is co-editor of the book “Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Interests, Issues, and Opportunities,” which was published by Routledge Press in 2023. She works on many projects relating to autism and neurodiversity, including teaching the eCornell courses Workplace Disability Inclusion and Autism at Work. She is also principal investigator, with Katie Brendli Brown, extension associate at the Yang-Tan Institute, for a National Science Foundation Workplace Equity for Persons with Disabilities grant. Called Navigating Pathways to STEM Careers: Insights from Autistic College Students, Employers, and Career Counselors, the project will be a mixed methods study of the barriers in the pathway from postsecondary STEM undergraduate education to STEM employment for autistic undergraduate students. It will begin in the fall of 2024.
Providing practical information to educators, policymakers and others who assist people with disabilities is a core focus for the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, which is part of Cornell’s ILR School. The institute’s mission is to advance knowledge, policies and practices that enhance equal opportunities for all people with disabilities. Its research, training and technical resources expand knowledge about disability inclusion, leading to positive change.
The institute currently leads over a dozen active projects, including Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative (ATTAIN), Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN), and New York state Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE).