Neurodiversity in the workplace: the 5 key insights from Saskia Schepers

2. Intersectionality: brain variation never exists in isolation

You cannot separate neurodiversity from other aspects of a person's identity and lived experience, such as gender, culture, social class, sexuality, age, and health. In organisations, taking an intersectional perspective concretely means: not just asking who is speaking up, but also: who is missing from the conversation? Which voices are not represented?

The dimensions of intersectionality in the workplace:

Gender

This is already clearly visible in women who do not fit into a classic male norm. Women tend to maskThe constant and conscious compensation for or hiding of your natural neurodivergent traits to appear neurotypical. and internalise more often; outwardly they conform to the norm, but internally they carry a heavy mental burden. Diagnoses often do not appear until around the menopause, when hormonal changes lower coping capacity and old coping mechanisms no longer work. That is when a history of underdiagnosis and chronic overload suddenly becomes visible in burnouts or long-term absence. Diagnoses in children can also prompt the question: who did the child inherit this from? This, of course, can also lead to late diagnoses in both women and men. The entire perception that 'boys are more likely to be autistic than girls' is debunked by a recent Swedish study from the Karolinska Institutet, which studied the medical data of five million people born in Sweden between 1985 and 2020:

• In childhood, boys are diagnosed much more frequently: boys are 3 to 4 times more likely to be diagnosed before the age of 10 than girls.
• However, as the group gets older, this pattern changes: by the age of 20, diagnosis rates for men and women are almost equal.
• This means that although girls are often recognised later or not at all during their childhood, they largely "close the gap" during their teenage years and early adulthood. And this only confirms that we are doing, and have done, girls a massive disservice.

Source: PubMed ID 41638711

Pride

There is a clear link between Pride and neurodiversity:

• Gender diversity occurs at an above-average rate within neurodivergence.
• Being transgender is also more common than average; with autism, there is a 3 to 6 times higher probability.
• Autistic women have an above-average likelihood of identifying as homosexual, bisexual, or asexual compared to neurotypical women (Annelies van der Spek).

There are various theories about what this connection might look like, but science has not yet reached a definitive conclusion:

• As a neurodivergent individual, are you less influenced by societal norms, leaving more freedom to break away from hetero and cisnormativeThe societal assumption that everyone feels comfortable with the biological sex assigned to them at birth and behaves according to that traditional role. expectations?
• Or are there shared underlying factors, such as prenatal conditions?

Pride is therefore not just an LGBTQ+ topic, but explicitly a theme that also touches upon how we understand and position neurodiversity within organisations.

Generations

This is also an interesting angle: the different generations at work. Gen ZThe generation born roughly between 1996 and 2010, who often enter the workplace with greater openness, self-insight, and early diagnosis. was mostly diagnosed as children and is perhaps the first generation with more self-knowledge and self-insight. Perhaps, as a result, they have a clearer view of the conditions required for an enjoyable working environment. Research here would be highly interesting. Current management positions are usually held by Gen XThe generation born roughly between 1965 and 1980, often characterised in a corporate context by a no-nonsense and 'hard work' mentality., originating from a hard work pays offThe typical view of older generations that soldiering on tirelessly is the only legitimate path to success. mindset. I regularly hear these managers say: “Yes, look: I had to struggle. I'm not going to pamper others.” Aren't we simply giving new generations new opportunities? And the school system, the rise of social media, upbringing… because of this, we all have different perspectives on work and life (see also the ZenBusiness Research source).

Culture

Cultural factors play an equally powerful role. What is seen as 'problematic behaviour' in one context is viewed as normal, creative, or assertive elsewhere. School structures, access to healthcare, diagnostic habits, and prevailing norms shape whether someone is even noticed in the first place. In countries with more inclusive education, it seems to be less of a 'problem', simply because the norm is broader and fewer children are left out. It is never the fault of the children.

Taking an intersectional perspective in organisations concretely means:

• Not just asking “who is speaking up?”, but also: who is missing from the conversation? Which voices are not represented?
• Explicitly opening up neurodiversity networks to people from different ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, and socio-economic positions.
• Being alert to the ‘late diagnosis club’: people who have maskedThe constant and conscious compensation for or hiding of your natural neurodivergent traits to appear neurotypical. for decades, and therefore usually carry more consequential damage. They may also enter a process of grief for everything that was, wasn't, or could have been.

Neurodiversity never exists in a vacuum; organisational and national culture determine which brains flourish and which must constantly compensate. In low-context cultures, communication is explicit: agreements are clearly stated, feedback is straightforward, and structures are visible. In high-context cultures, much is written between the lines, the implicit message is important, and social intuition is often a prerequisite for participating.

For someone who struggles with non-verbal cues or implicit rules, a high-context setting is a continuous puzzle: “What is actually meant here? What is allowed and what isn't, without anyone saying it?” Conversely, bluntly direct feedback, as seen in the Dutch context, can be extremely painful for someone with strong rejection sensitivity.

Added to this are differences in hierarchy and the perception of time. In a highly hierarchical culture, a need for autonomy and high intelligence can clash hard with 'the way we do things around here'. In teams where time is very strict, time blindness is quickly interpreted as unwillingness or a lack of professionalism; in contexts where 10 o'clock is closer to around 10 o'clock, there may be more leeway, but also more friction.

In short: put intersectionality on the agenda this year!