The employer gap when hiring neurodiverse talent, specifically autistic talent, compared to neurotypical talent. Understanding the challenges and solutions from both an employers’ and employees’ perspective

O’Hara, Ailish (2022) The employer gap when hiring neurodiverse talent, specifically autistic talent, compared to neurotypical talent. Understanding the challenges and solutions from both an employers’ and employees’ perspective. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

As the area of neurodiversity talent hiring propels into the spotlight more and more and countless number of both academics and employers call out the benefits around such talent, employers display quite notable hiring, onboarding and training gaps when compared to neurotypical talent. The term neurodiversity is certainly relatively new only being coined in 1997 by Judy Singer, an autistic sociologist. This dissertation aims to equip employers with knowledge around how to employ autistic talent, often referred to as a sub-category of neurodiversity. It does so by focusing on getting the fundamentals right such as the interview and onboarding process. Once successfully onboarded, the critical area of training for both employees and line managers is explored as well as the pivotal role Human Resource (HR) Professionals need to play, which can be quite contentious due to their perceived lack of knowledge working with autistic talent. The study is unique as it interviews employers, autistic employees and specialist recruitment agency bringing all their viewpoints together to inform rich data sets that can be used to bridge the hiring gap for employers. The autistic talent focused on throughout the dissertation are those who live fully independent lives and meet academic entry requirements. Nevertheless, this does not take away from other challenges, such as hiring and social difficulties that continue to exist for an autistic person.

This dissertation finds that large multinational enterprises (MNE) appear to be leading the way hiring autistic talent and, in some respects, the results contradict the literature review which predominately shines an overall negative light on employers when hiring autistic talent. Some limitations in terms of the research include the fact that no small-medium enterprises (SMEs) took part in the study so further research could include such organisations. However, the research has found that even MNEs are in their infancy in this space and have more work to do, particularly in Ireland.

An interesting concluding observation is perhaps whilst policies, procedures and diversity goals may be important and viewed as inclusive, they can often serve as nothing more than tokenistic. Real value is only added when organisations hire autistic talent for the right reasons for them, often quietly doing so, by partnering with experts who can help them achieve in this space.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Diversity H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Employment of People with Disabilities H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Recruitment
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2022 12:29
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2022 15:56
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5901

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