Overview

Neurodiversity is a rapidly evolving area of significance in workplaces around the world.  Neuroinclusion explores how workplaces can be more inclusive by valuing and supporting the diverse ways in which people think, behave and communicate.

This section explores key terms relating to neurodiversity and neuroinclusion, the state of play for workforce neurodiversity, and key issues such as the bias neurodivergent employees face in recruitment, higher experiences of discrimination and exclusion, and feeling the need to “mask” while at work.

Table of Contents

Neurodiversity and neuroinclusion

Neurodiversity (noun) refers to differences in how we all think and interact with the world, as a form of human diversity.

Neuroinclusion is the practice of consciously and actively including all types of information processing, learning and communication styles.1 The term can also refer to listening to, valuing, and supporting neurodivergent people whose thinking and behaviour may significantly diverge from what is considered neurotypical.2 Many workplace human resource practices are designed with neurotypical norms in mind, which can inadvertently exclude neurodivergent employees.3

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The contents of this page were last updated in March 2026.

Neuroinclusion
The case for action

References

  1. E. Thompson and J. Miller, Neuroinclusion at Work Survey Report, Industry Survey Report (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2024.
  2. Dana L. Ott et al., “Neurodiversity, Equity, and Inclusion in MNCs,” AIB Insights 22, no. 3 (2022); Jessica Dark, “Eight Principles of Neuro-Inclusion; an Autistic Perspective on Innovating Inclusive Research Methods,” Frontiers in Psychology 15 (February 2024).
  3. Dana L. Ott et al., “Neurodiversity, Equity, and Inclusion in MNCs,” AIB Insights 22, no. 3 (2022); Jessica Dark, “Eight Principles of Neuro-Inclusion; an Autistic Perspective on Innovating Inclusive Research Methods,” Frontiers in Psychology 15 (February 2024).
  4. Nick Walker, Neurodiversity: Some basic terms and definitions Neurodiversity: Some basic terms and definitions.
  5. Almuth McDowall et al., Neurodiversity at Work 2023: Demand, Supply and a Gap Analysis (Neurodiversity in Business & Birkbeck, University of London, 2023).
  6. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Neurodiversity at Work (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2018), https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/2024-pdfs/2024-neuroinclusion-at-work-report-8545.pdf; McDowall et al., Neurodiversity at Work 2023: Demand, Supply and a Gap Analysis; Sabrina D. Volpone et al., “Shaping Organisational Climates to Develop and Leverage Workforce Neurodiversity,” in Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Interests, Issues, and Opportunities, ed. Susanne M. Bruyere and Adrienne Colella (Routledge, 2022).
  7. Nick Walker, Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerments, and Postnormal Possibilities
  8. Nick Walker, “Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms and Definitions,” Neuroqueer, August 1, 2021, https://neuroqueer.com/neurodiversity-terms-and-definitions/.
  9. Thompson and Miller, Neuroinclusion at Work Survey Report.
  10. Dark J. Eight principles of neuro-inclusion; an autistic perspective on innovating inclusive research methods. Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 27. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1326536.
  11. Layla J. Branicki et al., “Factors Shaping the Employment Outcomes of Neurodivergent and Neurotypical People: Exploring the Role of Flexible and Homeworking Practices,” Human Resource Management 63, no. 6 (2024); Amber Kersten et al., “A Strengths-Based Human Resource Management Approach to Neurodiversity: ALayla J. Branicki et al., “Factors Shaping the Employment Outcomes of Neurodivergent and Neurotypical People: Exploring the Role of Flexible and Homeworking Practices,” Human Resource Management 63, no. 6 (2024); Amber Kersten et al., “A Strengths-Based Human Resource Management Approach to Neurodiversity: A Multi-Actor Qualitative Study,” Human Resource Management 64, no. 1 (2025): 229–45; Thompson and Miller, Neuroinclusion at Work Survey Report 2024
  12. For more research on the factors affecting whether neurodivergent individuals adopt a ‘disability identity’ see Connie M. S. Janiszewski et al., “The Relationship between Disability Identity and Use of Person-First and Identity-First Language,” Rehabilitation Psychology (US), 2025: “Several demographic and health-related factors were significant predictors of disability identity, including younger age, nonbinary gender, residence in “other” countries [i.e. not Australia], neurodevelopmental, hearing, digestive, or pain conditions, congenital conditions, and having visible or both visible and invisible disabilities.” (p.7).
  13. MacKenzie Smith et al., “Preferences for Person-First Language and Identity-First Language in Autistic Communities,” Journal of Critical Study of Communication and Disability, Journal of Critical Study of Communication and Disability, Vol. 1 No. 2 (2023), December 20, 2023, pp.106-140.
  14. Nancy Doyle, “Neurodiversity at Work: A Biopsychosocial Model and the Impact on Working Adults,” British Medical Bulletin 135, no. 1 (2020): 108–25, https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa021.
  15. Superfriend x Specialisterne, Supporting Neurodivergent Workers: Insights from Superfriend and Specialisterne for a Thriving Workplace, Industry survey (Specialisterne Australia, 2024), 5, https://us.specialisterne.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Superfriend-Specialisterne_NeurodiversityWhitepaper_vF.pdf.
  16. Australian Government, JobAccess - How to Support a Neurodivergent Workforce.
  17. Pearn Kandola Research, Neurodiversity At Work Report 2024, Industry survey (Pearn Kandola Research, 2024), https://pearnkandola.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Neurodiversity-At-Work-Report-2024.pdf.
  18. Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Social Services), National Autism Strategy 2025-2031, 16–17.
  19. Ernst & Young Global Ltd, EY Global Neuroinclusion at Work Study 2025, Professional Services Survey Report (2025), 15, https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-gl/services/consulting/documents/ey-global-neuroinclusion-at-work-study-07-2025.pdf.
  20. Layla J. Branicki et al., “Factors Shaping the Employment Outcomes of Neurodivergent and Neurotypical People: Exploring the Role of Flexible and Homeworking Practices,” Human Resource Management 63, no. 6 (2024): 1001–23, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22243.
  21. Daniela Lup and Esther Canonico, “Bridges and Gatekeepers: Employees’ Willingness to Refer Qualified Candidates on the Autism Spectrum,” Human Resource Management 63, no. 6 (2024): 1025–43, https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22247.
  22. Pearn Kandola Research. Neurodiversity At Work Report 2024. Industry survey. Pearn Kandola Research, 2024. https://pearnkandola.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Neurodiversity-At-Work-Report-2024.pdf
  23. Janine Williams et al., Getting on at Work: Progression and Promotion of Women with Disability in the Victorian Public Service, Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector (Queensland University of Technology, 2023), 13, https://doi.org/10.5204/rep.eprints.241144.