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Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace City & Guilds Neurodiversity Index 20242 Contents Forewords City and Guilds4 Do-IT Solutions 5 About the Index What do we mean by neurodiversity and why does it matter7 Methodology9 The Results How well do workplaces understand neurodiversity today11 In Practice An Employers perspective: Labcorp and Admiral Insurance14 Key findings22 Recommendations for organisations26 Parents and Carers Being a parent of a neurodivergent child28 What do employers need to consider for employees who are parents and carers of neurodivergent children?30 Taking Action32 Neurodiversity Barometer34 Appendices34 Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace 3By being open to making changes to processes, and celebrating our differences, we will reach so much more untapped talent and potential. Kirstie Donnelly MBE Chief Executive Officer, City & Guilds Foreword City & Guilds At City & Guilds we are committed to helping people to develop their skills, and our Foundation in particular exists to support people facing barriers find secure and sustained employment. In 2023 we were delighted to launch our first Neurodiversity Index as part of our commitment to raising awareness of the barriers that neurodivergent individuals face in the workplace. Our first Index provided us with data from over 1000 employees and employers working in the UK and globally, allowing us to better understand what is happening on a day-to- day basis and the impact that this is having on individuals. Whilst we have seen an increasing awareness amongst employers around neurodiversity, there is still much uncertainty about what they actually need to do differently to become truly inclusive. The aim of this second Neurodiversity Index is to continue to build knowledge and understanding and see what has improved or changed for employers and employees over the last 12 months. This report will also provide awareness and insight around making our workplaces more neuroinclusive and improving accessibility for all at each and every stage of the employee journey. By being open to improving recruitment and retention practices and to appreciating and celebrating difference, we will all reach so muchmore untapped talent and potential. 4 Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace The Index provides insights and ideas on how we can all flourish and how this can benefit everyone in society. Professor Amanda Kirby MBBS MRCGP PhD Chief Executive Officer, Do-IT Solutions Foreword Do-IT Solutions For more than 30 years I have worked in the field of neurodevelopmental conditions. I have a deep and personal interest in this area having family members who are neurodivergent, as well as my own lived experience. I have delivered transdisciplinary clinical services, international training and supported organisations nationally and internationally. As well as this I have undertaken a wide range of research in a range of settings and published over 100 research papers and more than 10 books in the field. Working in education, employment and justice settings has contributed to my passion for increasing opportunities for all and showcasing and growing the talent that is out there already. In the context of this report, I want to ensure we see truly neuroinclusive practices in every workplace and in all sizes of organisations. We can see some positive changes from the Index this year but there remain ongoing challenges in ensuring that we achieve more inclusive approaches to both education and employment. This Neurodiversity Index is not only about focusing on employers. It is also very important we hear the lived experiences from employees working in all sizes of organisations. This can provide us with nuggets of understanding so we can learn first- hand what can work well and what barriers remain. The Index this year provides more insights and ideas on how we can all flourish and how this can benefit everyone in society. I’m delighted to be able to partner with the City & Guilds Foundation once again which will hopefully support many organisations on their quest to become more inclusive. Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace 56 What do we mean by neurodiversity, and why does it matter? Neurodiversity describes the many different ways that we all think, move, hear, see, understand, process information, and communicate with each other. Society has often been set up to favour those who do things in what is considered to be a ‘typical’ or average way. This results in us favouring some people more than others and means we can potentially miss out on the talent that is out there, but more importantly, results in perpetuating barriers for neurodiverse people into meaningful work. By recognising and embracing a neurodiverse society we can move forward ensuring that all talent is valued equitably, and that we will benefit from new ideas to flourish. This has widespread benefits to all of society. In the past three to five years we have seen growing interest in neurodiversity in workplace settings nationally and internationally. In particular, we have seen great practice from large private sector employers, and charities rolling out new initiatives to help neurodiverse people navigate the workplace and employers to embrace neurodiversity. We have 84 billion brain cells connected in billions of different ways. Why then would we expect everyone to respond in the same way to the same environmental conditions? 1ADHD Foundation (2022) Neurodiversity Friendly Award. https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/training/training-for-business 2 Institute of Neurodiversity (2022) https://ioneurodiversity.org GAIN https://gaintogether.org/ Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace 7About the Neurodiversity Index There is a huge amount to be gained from diverse thought in all parts of an organisation and this Neurodiversity Index brings into sharp focus the opportunity for employers big and small to get this right, and, the implications, when they get it wrong. This is the second year of the Neurodiversity Index, and the aim this year was to build on the knowledge gained from last year. This report will highlight consistencies, growth, and differences in the last 12 months. We have built on last year's survey by asking some new questions which delve deeper into both employer and employee experiences. The Index aimed to have diverse employer representation and draw valuable recommendations. This report helps employers understand neurodivergent staff experiences and inspires neuroinclusive workplaces. Methodology Questions were carefully constructed to capture both the employer and employee perspectives. An online anonymised survey via the Do-IT platform allowed questions to be spoken according to participant preference as well as other tools for accessibility embedded. All participants were also offered help with completing the survey. A list of some of the key questions asked can be found in the appendices of this report. The data was collected from September 2023 to December 2023. This was a short collection time and represents a convenience sample. The data was gathered after promoting the study to a range of organisations and on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. HR Directors based within large organisations were specifically targeted. Do-IT has a large following on LinkedIn and Professor Amanda writes a weekly newsletter relating to neurodiversity with more than 125,000 followers. This allowed circulation to a wide range of organisations of all sizes and reach across the neurodivergent community. The survey was also circulated to City & Guilds networks. 8 93 573 different employers completed the survey employees completed across every age range, sexual orientation and ethnicity of respondents were from large organisations (employing more than 250 employees) of employers were in the education and training sector of employers were in professional services of respondents identified as female 41.2%26% 13%66% Size of organisations surveyed Employers by sectorAverage earnings of respondents Gender of respondents professional services charity and not for profit education public sector tech female male gender non-conforming transgender female bigender gender fluid < £20,000 £20,001-£30,000 £30,001-£45,000 £45,001-£60,000 £60,001-£100,000 £100,000< 66% 29% 3.5% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 7% 12% 25% 19% 18% 11% 13% 12% 26% 12% 8% 49% 15% 16% 25% 250+ employees 50-249 employees 10-49 employees less than 10 employees Championing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace 9Next >