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The coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns and travel bans, has prompted an unprecedented shakeup of everything we thought we knew about daily labor. How we work, where and when. There’s never been a better time to also reexamine who toils with us.
For many companies, that has meant championing diversity, a crucial consideration for blue-chip employers eager to widen the talent pool, and please increasingly demanding investors. There have certainly been encouraging steps toward far better disclosure around race and gender.
So why are we doing so little when it comes to disabilities, particularly the invisible kind?
Take autism, where employment rates are astoundingly low for a condition that ranges widely, from people with intellectual limitations and restricted speech, to those with milder social challenges. Official statistics from the UK suggest that adults with autism are among the least likely to work, compared to other impairments. Australian research puts those with autism and out of a job at three times the overall rate for disabled adults, and almost six times for the general population. Even in countries where awareness is most advanced, the United Nations estimates that more than 80% of adults with autism are unemployed or underemployed.
There’s a hefty expense associated with such sidelining — and not just for the individuals, unable to achieve their full potential, underpaid if they work at all, and left struggling to deal with higher-than-average medical bills. Society bears an opportunity cost, too. Those who work can have reduced symptoms and improved daily lives. It’s true that not all people with autism will be suitable for or qualified for all jobs, but that’s not so different from everyone else. At the extremes, some have severe impediments, while
savants — prodigies — are far rarer in reality than in the movies. In the middle, though, there are millions
of creative, persistent and capable minds.
Somewhere close to 2% of US adults live with autism spectrum disorder — nearly 4% when it comes to men. Leaving so many of them out is a waste of human promise, just when companies and economies need to be thinking and solving problems differently.
The good news is that we’re at a unique turning point. The pandemic has been painful for people with autism, who often value predictability, but companies are also more flexible and better equipped than ever to change, accommodate and even seek heterogeneity.
First, some of the problems. There have been big improvements when it comes to children, with early diagnosis and support. Yet we still know astoundingly little about autism in grown-ups regarding, say, how it evolves or what services work best to improve lives and why. There are too few studies that follow people with autism as they age.
In the UK, less than a third of research included adults, and under 15% focused exclusively on them. US figures suggest 3% of all funding in 2017-18 went toward understanding the needs of adults. Research is especially sparse when it comes to autism among non-White populations. Too often, stereotypes and stigma then fill the gaps.
Then, the practicalities. Interviews can be an insurmountable hurdle, and even if cleared, employees then face the challenge of working in a social environment where rules change frequently and are often unspoken. Not all feel they can come forward and ask for support.
—Bloomberg