“We’ve been hiring folks through our autism and neurodiversity hiring program since 2015, and I think we’ve learned a lot through that … we were closing the door to neurodiverse talent,” said Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft.

Photo by Yan Krukau via Pexels

This statement was made in a 2024 interview on the podcast, “Accessibility and Gen AI.” Autism diagnoses have nearly doubled over the past decade, according to the CDC. In this time, the U.S. labor force has seen multiple large companies, such as Microsoft, launch or expand their inclusive disability programs. 

Autistic adults face multiple obstacles in the current U.S. labor market, from the challenges of knowing when and how to disclose their diagnoses, to uncertainty around requesting accommodations. A recent longitudinal study found adult autism employment rates across the U.S. and Canada were about 14%, significantly lower than employment rates for non-autistic individuals. In addition, when autistic adults do gain and maintain employment, they face challenges in un-accommodated workspaces. A 2019 study found that 90% of the employers surveyed reported they had received no training in autism spectrum disorders in the previous two years.

As Lay-Flurrie explained, Microsoft’s neurodiversity hiring program works for them by modifying their standard interview practices, “evaluating what can we do to make questions available in advance, which is probably one of the number one requests we get.” Microsoft’s program has used other adaptations to attract diverse talent, such as running a multiday “Minecraft Academy” event. 

Other companies have launched ongoing hiring programs similar to Microsoft, including JPMorgan Chase, whose Business Solutions Team (BeST) launched in 2019, hires individuals with both learning and developmental disabilities. Bryan Gill, the operations director of BeST, has reflected that their hiring program has seen a return on their investment through what Gill describes as a better understanding of their employee differences.

The impact of neurodiverse hiring programs has been covered extensively by EARN, the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability, which operates under the U.S. Department of Labor. Research shared by EARN has shown that consumers prefer interacting with a company which employs disabled team members. Additionally, the EARN Employer Roundtable published the “Autism @ Work Playbook” where observations from roundtable members are shared to help other employers interested in neurodivergent hiring with recruitment and retention.

As autistic diagnoses increase, more adults with autism will attempt to enter the workforce and will face the challenges of the current labor market. Companies with successful neurodiversity hiring programs are modeling achievable goals for more companies to start their own programs, which starts with hiring managers and leaders recognizing the benefit of inclusivity programs to their businesses. More information can be found at the CDC and EARN websites.