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Women's Leadership Group CIC

Becoming a genuinely neuroinclusive employer

A guided toolkit for organisations ready to move from awareness to action — starting with where you stand today.

Overall assessment: Employer Maturity Calculator

A quick, high-level check across seven categories. It gives you an instant score and feeds your personalised report.

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Beginning
How this differs from the checklists: start here for a high-level picture. Then use the individual checklists below to explore priority areas in more detail. Your completed responses from both are brought together in your downloadable report.
Beginning → Developing → Established → Leading → Best Practice

Your progress

Where you are in the toolkit, and what's left. This updates as you go and stays available if you come back later in this browser session.

Your journey through the toolkit

Work through in order, or jump to what's most relevant right now.

Evidence library

Facts & Research

The evidence base for this toolkit — with links to the original research so you can explore it yourself.

What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term describing the natural variation in how people's brains process information, learn, communicate and experience the world.

Neurodiversity includes, but is not limited to, the conditions below. Select any of them to read more — including common workplace barriers, possible strengths and preferences, and examples of inclusive adjustments.

Every individual is different. Two people with the same condition may experience it very differently — which is why support should always start with the person, not the label.

Educational — not diagnostic

Autism and ADHD: understanding the overlap

Autism and ADHD are distinct forms of neurodivergence, but they can co-occur — some people are autistic and have ADHD, and some characteristics (such as difficulty with certain kinds of focus, sensory sensitivity, or social communication differences) can overlap between the two.

Individual experience varies enormously, whether someone has one condition, both, or neither. This overview is educational context for employers, not a diagnostic tool — please don't use it to guess at, question, or label a colleague's experience.

Key statistics

5 yrs
later than men that women receive an ADHD diagnosis
80%
of autistic women misdiagnosed at least once first
81%
mask their traits daily — most acutely, women
~1:1
emerging estimate of the true male:female autism ratio

"Autistic women had significantly higher rates of suicidality than autistic men, attributed in large part to the sustained psychological cost of masking."

The Lancet Psychiatry, 2023

Research summaries

The business case

Many workplaces have traditionally been designed around one way of working. That design choice — not any difference in capability — means organisations often fail to benefit fully from the skills, perspectives and talents of neurodivergent people. Creating environments where everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute benefits the whole organisation.

6×
inclusive cultures are more likely to be innovative (Deloitte)
2×
more likely to meet financial targets (Deloitte)
£0
the cost of most workplace adjustments

Legal context

Under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies wherever a condition has a substantial, long-term effect on daily activities — with or without a formal diagnosis. The Worker Protection Act 2023 adds a proactive duty on employers to prevent harassment before it occurs.

Read the legislation: Equality Act 2010 (opens in new tab) · Worker Protection Act 2023 (opens in new tab)

Implementation guide

Neuroinclusive Recruitment

A practical guide for hiring managers, HR teams and anyone involved in bringing people into your organisation.

Introduction

This guide covers inclusive job adverts, accessible interviews, alternative assessments and candidate communication. By the end — and by completing the checklist — you'll have a concrete plan for removing unnecessary barriers from your hiring process.

Why this matters

The case for change

Fairness: inclusive recruitment enables you to assess candidates more fairly by reducing unnecessary barriers that may disadvantage some applicants. The aim is not to find "better" candidates — it's to let people demonstrate their abilities in ways that work for them, while maintaining the same standards for everyone.

The risk of inaction: processes that reward one particular interview style over job-relevant skill can exclude capable candidates, and may constitute indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Remember: the full evidence behind this guidance is on the Facts & Research page.

Practical guidance

Job adverts. Strip out vague trait language — "dynamic", "fast-paced", "confident communicator" — unless genuinely essential to the role's output. Specify what the job actually requires. State your adjustments commitment explicitly: "We welcome applications from neurodivergent candidates and will make reasonable adjustments on request."

⚡
Quick winAdd the adjustments statement to every live advert this week. It takes five minutes and signals inclusion before a single application arrives.

Interviews. Share questions in advance as standard — this lets candidates show what they can do rather than how quickly they can respond under pressure. Brief candidates fully on format, location, and who will be present.

⚠
Common pitfallTreating advance questions as "giving answers away." The assessment standard stays exactly the same — what changes is that every candidate gets a fair opportunity to demonstrate their ability.

Alternative assessments. Offer written tasks, portfolios or take-home exercises as equal-status alternatives to live panels.

💡
Top tipAsk every candidate — not just those who disclose — "Is there anything that would help you perform at your best?"
🤔
Things to considerDo your assessment criteria inadvertently score eye contact, verbal fluency or "presence" rather than job-relevant skills?

Your recruitment checklist

Next steps

Implementation guide

Reasonable Adjustments

Practical support that removes barriers — for HR teams, line managers and anyone supporting a colleague.

Introduction

This guide covers your legal responsibilities, practical adjustments, Access to Work, adjustment passports and how to have the conversation well.

Why this matters

The case for change

Legal position: under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to adjust applies wherever a condition has a substantial, long-term effect — with or without a formal diagnosis.

Business benefit: most adjustments cost nothing, and organisations with clear adjustment pathways retain people who might otherwise leave unsupported.

Everyone benefits: written follow-ups, clear priorities and flexible working improve the working day for a wide range of employees.

Practical guidance

The process. Have one clear, communicated route for requesting adjustments.

⚡
Quick winEven a single monitored inbox with a committed 3-working-day acknowledgement is a real process.

Common adjustments. Written follow-ups to verbal instructions. Agendas 24 hours ahead. Camera-optional calls. Flexible hours. Clear, ranked priorities.

💡
Top tipSignpost Access to Work proactively — UK government funding of up to £69,260 per year, with no repayment.
⚠
Common pitfallTreating adjustments as one-off fixes. Build in a review date every time.

What is an Adjustment Passport?

A portable record of agreed support

An Adjustment Passport is a document that records the workplace adjustments an individual has agreed with their employer, so they remain consistent if the employee changes manager or role.

Who owns it: the employee. They choose what it contains and who sees it.

Worth knowing: passports can benefit many employees — anyone with a health condition, caring responsibility or working preference — not only neurodivergent colleagues.

Starting the conversation

The full Manager Conversation Guide covers this in depth. A starting point:

"I want to make sure you're set up to do your best work. Is there anything about how we work together that isn't working for you?"

Your adjustments checklist

Next steps

Implementation guide

Culture Change

Building a workplace where everyone can ask for support, work in the way that suits them, and contribute at their best.

Introduction

This guide covers manager education, psychological safety, inclusive meetings and communication, policy review and leadership behaviours.

Why this matters

The case for change

Inclusion benefits everyone: a culture where anyone can ask for support without justifying themselves improves the experience of all employees.

Research insight: leader disclosure measurably increases disclosure rates across an entire organisation.

Practical guidance

Make support normal, not special. Everyone should understand that workplace adjustments are available to anyone who needs support.

⚡
Quick winMake "how do you work best?" a standard question in onboarding and 1-to-1s — for everyone.

Inclusive meetings. Agendas shared 24 hours ahead. Camera-optional as default. Follow-up notes in writing.

⚠
Common pitfallLaunching a neurodiversity network with no budget, no sponsor and no policy influence.
🤔
Things to considerWhat gets reported gets resourced.

Your culture change checklist

Next steps

Manager guide

Starting the Conversation

Practical language for the conversations managers most often avoid — and shouldn't.

Conversation starters

"Is there anything we could do that would help you work at your best?"

"Everyone works differently. Is there anything that would make your working day easier?"

"Would you like to talk about anything that's making work more challenging at the moment?"

"Are there any adjustments that would help you succeed in your role?"

"There's no pressure to share anything personal — but if there's anything we can do to support you, we're happy to have that conversation."

What to say — and what to avoid

✓ Good practice

  • Create psychological safety before expecting openness
  • Listen without assumptions — let them lead
  • Focus on workplace support, not labels or diagnoses
  • Agree practical actions together, in writing
  • Set a review date — support isn't a one-off

✕ Avoid

  • Asking someone to prove or justify a diagnosis
  • Assuming support requires a formal diagnosis first
  • Making assumptions about capability
  • Treating disclosure as a performance conversation
  • Assuming silence means everything is fine

Example scenarios

Struggling without a formal diagnosis

An employee is visibly finding deadlines and prioritisation hard, and mentions they suspect they may have ADHD but face a years-long assessment wait. Approach: support starts now — the Equality Act doesn't require a label.

A new starter requests adjustments

During onboarding, a new hire shares that they're autistic and asks for written instructions. Approach: thank them, agree the adjustments immediately, record them in an adjustment passport.

A high performer discloses ADHD

One of your strongest team members shares an ADHD diagnosis. Approach: reassure explicitly that it changes nothing about how their performance is viewed.

Burnout linked to masking

A previously engaged colleague has become withdrawn and exhausted. Approach: open gently without diagnosing. Reduce load first, explore support second.

Returning after stress-related absence

A colleague is returning after time off. Approach: plan the return together before day one, put it in writing, review at two weeks.

Download the guide

Next steps

Your results

Personalised Report

A consultancy-style report generated live from your Employer Maturity Calculator responses and checklists.

Complete a few questions in the assessment to unlock your personalised report.

Resource library

Resources

Templates, guides and downloads — filter by who you're supporting.

Trusted partners

Recommended Partners

Organisations WLG CIC trusts to extend this work beyond the toolkit.

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About

Women's Leadership Group CIC

Diverse leaders. Real change. UK-wide impact.

The Women's Leadership Group CIC is a UK-wide collective of silo-free, passionate female leaders and male allies, representing sectors from business and public services to charities.

UK-Wide
Membership and events
CIC
Community Interest Company
Open
To leaders and allies alike

General: enquiries@womensleadershipgroup.co.uk
Members: members@womensleadershipgroup.co.uk
Phone: 078 02933576

Visit the WLG website (opens in a new tab) ↗
Feedback

What people are saying

Feedback from user testing of the toolkit — and a chance to share your own.

Feedback from user testing

The toolkit takes you on a journey from learning and understanding to measures to implementing and changing procedures and policies which are biased towards neurotypical mindsets

I genuinely think it's brilliant - enjoyed moving through it and it's going to make a real difference for organisations getting this right - can't wait to see it live

It's a simple and clear assessment with clear indicators/clues in the questions for businesses to set strategies. Nice work WLG!

I really enjoyed downloading it into a PDF report as it makes it easier for senior leaders to review and minimises the workload for the person completing the toolkit

I think it could be a really useful tool for organisations such as ourselves when it has been launched