Why Inclusive Recruitment of Neurodivergent people matters
Despite growing awareness and acknowledgement of the value of hiring neurodivergent individuals, employment rates remain low. Only 31% of autistic adults in the UK were employed as of March 2024 and a third of the long term unemployed are dyslexic.
Neurodivergent individuals—including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences—bring unique strengths, problem-solving abilities, and creativity to the workplace. However, traditional hiring processes often create barriers that prevent neurodivergent talent from thriving. By adopting inclusive recruitment strategies, organisations can unlock new perspectives, drive innovation, and build a truly diverse workforce.
The Opening Doors blueprint can be applied to ensuring inclusive recruitment of talented neurodivergent people. Along with our Opening Doors webinar on this theme, here you can access additional resources to support your organisations in making application process more accessible to people with neurodivergent conditions.
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Hear from Fiona, an NI GP, only recently diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia on her experiences navigating education and her career while undiagnosed:
“Northern Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate across the UK and Ireland. We also have the highest number of economically inactive individuals. This means we don’t have a wide pool of candidates readily available.
Often neurodivergent applicants are unintentionally disadvantaged in the process and while its often accidental It cannot continue. Neurodivergent individuals are a rich source of talent and by not considering how we can attract them in our process’s organisations are missing out on the best talent!”
Cara Marks | Co-Founder of SPARK
Community Partners |
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