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Stop Hiring for Culture Fit — Hire for Belonging

Most Workplaces Were Not Designed with Neurodivergent People in Mind

Neurodiversity Isn’t an Exception — It’s the Human Norm

For too long, neurodivergent people have been treated as outliers.
As deviations from a presumed “default.”
But the reality is far simpler: human brains have always been diverse.

Recent research shows that between 15–20% of the global population is neurodivergent — that’s nearly 1 in 5 people. In the U.S., estimates suggest around 1 in 5 workers identify with a neurodivergent condition. Among younger generations, self‑identification is even higher: nearly 1 in 4 Gen Z employees report being neurodivergent.

When we stop pathologizing difference, something powerful happens.
We start seeing genius where we once saw “difficulty.”
We start seeing creativity where we once saw “disruption.”
We start seeing people — fully, wholly, and clearly.

 

The Hidden Discrimination Neurodivergent People Face at Work

Here’s the part that often goes unspoken:
Most workplaces were never designed with neurodivergent people in mind.

Discrimination doesn’t always show up as overt exclusion.
More often, it hides inside systems; hiring practices, promotion criteria, and performance norms — that quietly reward sameness and penalize difference.

1. The Job Interview That Hasn’t Evolved in a Century

Traditional interviews tend to measure one thing above all else:
How well someone performs socially under pressure.

Eye contact.
Small talk.
Immediate responses.
Behavioral storytelling.
“Reading the room.”

These are not reliable indicators of intelligence, capability, or long-term performance.
They are indicators of how well someone can mask.

Yet these rituals; largely unchanged for over 100 years; still determine who gets hired.

The impact is stark: up to 85% of autistic adults in the U.S. are unemployed or underemployed despite strong qualifications. Neurodivergent candidates are also twice as likely to be screened out by traditional interviews compared to neurotypical peers.

 

2. Promotions Based on Visibility, Not Value

Many neurodivergent employees excel at deep work, innovation, and complex problem-solving.
But they may not thrive in:

• Office politics

• Networking rituals

• Self-promotion

• Speaking frequently in large meetings

• “Managing up”

When advancement depends on charisma instead of contribution, neurodivergent excellence is overlooked; not because of a lack of talent, but because the system rewards the loudest presence rather than the strongest impact.

 

3. Misread Communication Styles

A direct communicator becomes “abrasive.”
A quiet thinker becomes “unengaged.”
A detail-oriented mind becomes “rigid.”
A person who asks for clarity becomes “difficult.”

These labels stick.
They influence performance reviews.
They limit opportunities.
They quietly shape entire careers.

 

So Many Neurodivergent People Are Left Behind

During one of our consulting sessions, a brilliant young woman in our network shared that she applied for 17 internal roles in her company and didn’t get any.

She’s autistic.
A systems thinker.
And she has a portfolio that would impress most hiring managers.

Still, she was repeatedly passed over after interviews or was not interviewed at all.

Why?
She didn’t “connect” in the expected way.

Eventually, she applied for an external role and was hired by a company that prioritized work ethics and value over old interview practices.

She didn’t need to change.
The system needed to listen differently.

 

What Neurodivergent People Bring

Neurodivergent people are not accommodations.
They are competitive advantages — when environments allow them to surface.

They frequently bring:

• Deep focus

• Pattern recognition

• Creative and non-linear problem-solving

• Innovative thinking

A Call to Leaders, Educators, and Changemakers

If you lead people, teach people, raise people, or build communities, you play a role in shaping whether neurodivergent minds are merely tolerated or truly valued.

Here’s where meaningful change can begin:

1. Replace “culture fit” with belonging.

2. Normalize multiple communication styles.

3. Redesign hiring and promotion systems.

4. Trust people when they tell you what they need.

 

The Heart of It All

Neurodiversity isn’t a trend.
It’s a reminder that humanity has always been plural.

With nearly 1 in 5 workers already neurodivergent — and younger generations identifying at even higher rates — the future of work will demand systems that honor cognitive diversity.

When we build systems that honor that truth, we don’t just support neurodivergent people — we create environments where everyone can breathe more easily.

Where belonging isn’t earned.
It’s practiced.
It’s lived.
It’s shared.