Corporate India is increasingly embracing neurodiversity at the workplace, hiring people with autism, dyslexia and ADHD.
Companies including SAP, EY, and Publicis Sapient are backing better neurodiversity inclusion through tailored programmes as well as targeted hiring efforts via tieups with NGOs, special schools and specialised hiring platforms. Accenture and Wells Fargo, among others, are driving awareness and sensitisation through employee resource groups (ERGs), neuro-inclusion training modules, manager training, etc, these firms said.
Neurodivergent people are being hired in roles like software development, quality assurance and testing, data analysis and analytics, system administration, information development, UX design, and cybersecurity.
And it’s not about being socially responsible or promoting diversity and a culture of inclusion at the workplace, but these individuals bring unique perspectives and skillsets to organisations.
“Neurodivergent employees bring in a different perspective. They are stable, low on attrition, and very dedicated. They make us more grounded,” said Burgess Sam Cooper, cybersecurity consulting partner at EY India.
The professional services major has been hiring neurodiverse candidates through a structured process, where they are taken in as freshers, trained and groomed to take up roles in areas such as data leakage prevention. EY GDS, too, has hired them for centres in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram. The organisation trains managers to support them while employees regularly go through certifications to upgrade skillsets.
Cooper champions the initiatives of EYs Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence (NCoE) in India.
Organisations such as EnAble India, a non-profit focused on empowering persons with disability (PwDs), and inclusive livelihood platform Atypical Advantage work with companies to help neurodivergent individuals find jobs.
Vineet Saraiwala, founder of Atypical Advantage, told ET that Amazon, Marico, Nestle, Nagarro, The Lalit and CAI among others have hired neurodiverse employees, either for full-time or internship roles, through them.
Focusing on overall ecosystem
SAP’s ‘Autism at Work’ programme is dedicated to fostering a nurturing environment and showcasing the skills of individuals on the autism spectrum.
“Our aim is to match neurodivergent individuals’ unique talents and abilities with roles that align with their interests and strengths,” said Shweta Mohanty, vice-president and head – HR at SAP India. “Our commitment goes beyond recruitment; it’s about creating pathways for these individuals to flourish. By prioritising skills over traditional metrics, we’re paving the way for them to thrive irrespective of their educational background,” she said.
Publicis Sapient has developed programmes specifically geared towards supporting neurodivergent individuals and people with intellectual disability. It has amplified efforts around supporting them by engaging all its geo circles (where it connects remote people in different cities to build local communities and encourage collaboration) in disability confidence panel discussions.
“Our goal is simple: create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to do their best work,” said Vieshaka Dutta, senior director, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) for India and APAC at Publicis Sapient. “Because when we embrace diversity, everyone wins.”
Lakshmi C, managing director and lead – human resources at Accenture in India, said they believe diverse perspectives nurture innovation.
Over the last two years, the professional services company has run pilots in India to hire people with autism spectrum disorder through an internship programme. Its medical insurance programme covers costs of prolonged speech therapy, motor skills development, and other therapies key to the emotional, behavioural, and professional development of neurodivergent people and neurodivergent dependents of employees.
“Our ERGs– one for our neurodivergent people and another for people who are caregivers to their neurodivergent dependents – help our people voice their experiences, lean on each other, find solutions to shared challenges, and build camaraderie,” Lakshmi said.
Wells Fargo’s neurodiversity programme, which focuses on attracting talent from the broader spectrum of neurodiversity, onboarded 20 individuals in 2023 in technology, operations, and finance.
The company said it uses a train-intern-hire model.
With the help of community partner EnAble India, Wells Fargo maps market readiness and skills of candidates across the neurodiversity spectrum and performs job role analysis to identify suitable roles internally. Shortlisted candidates undergo 14 weeks of training and, subsequently, three months of internship before being onboarded as full-time employees.
Challenges remain: While efforts to improve neurodiversity are visible across India Inc, overall progress is slow.
“It’s tough to create jobs for people on the spectrum due to attitudinal barriers and inherent behavioural challenges,” Saraiwala of Atypical Advantage said. “The pool of neurodiverse people graduating every year is small, and many companies want people who are ready without investing in skilling (them). Interest is growing, but overall numbers are still very small,” he added.
