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For those who live with multiple intersections, life can be doubly difficult and an intersection that doesn’t get talked about enough is race and neurodivergence, as spotlighted by Black Minds Matter UK earlier this month.

People who fall into both intersectionality’s have experienced social exclusion in one aspect of life or another and it’s a double-edged sword when you fall into both categories, as you must navigate racist biases and the taboo of mental health.

As a result, there are some real challenges and barriers that go unseen when it comes to being black and neurodivergent.

Black neurodiverse people, particularly black women and girls, are often identified and diagnosed late, if ever, and experience higher misdiagnosis rates for nearly all conditions.

Until recently, in the U.S., black children were less likely to be diagnosed with autism than their white and Asian peers, although studies in both the U.S. and Europe found higher rates of autism in children of immigrants, including some black children.

This can mostly be put down to a lack of data, cultural biases and stereotypes that suggest disorders like autism are conditions that mostly impact white men.

Consequently, due to the lack of data and educational resources, care and support provided is often not very effective as healthcare professionals and other services do not understand the unique experience of being black and neurodiverse.

So how can we support our neurodivergent BIPOC in the workplace?

👉 Accept the different parts of their identity without judgement.

👉 Show support for a coworker by being empathetic – if they want to vent about their lived experiences then let them. Being an ally means being a good listener.

👉 Don’t expect them to educate you – do some research in your spare time and show you care about their wellbeing and are willing to learn, letting them come to you. This is how stigma can be dismantled.

For neurodivergent BIPOC, it can often feel like you are the only lonely. But there are ways that allies can support and ease the lives of those with intersecting identities.

As a B-corp business, Ruebik is deeply committed to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. In the five years since our inception, it has become increasingly clear that AI and technology are at the forefront of the skills sought by hiring managers in recruitment.

Simultaneously, organisations are actively experimenting with these advancements, as we have discovered through our consultancy efforts. Organisations have shifted focus to the bigger picture, striving for an equitable future.

Although AI has a large carbon footprint and produces e-waste, there is evidence to believe that it might just help us on our road to creating a more environmentally-friendly world.

AI can quickly measure data, eliminate human error, create predictive insights, identify risks and analyse data.

With that in mind, what can AI do for people, the planet and profit?

As companies continue to prioritise the triple bottom line, it is clear that AI may be able to help them with this transformation by creating more sustainable solutions.

We talked a lot about intersectionality in our neurodivergent campaign but there is also a double-edged sword when it comes to being black heritage and living with a disability.

It is estimated that 8% of people with complex disabilities are from an underrepresented diverse background (approximately 143,784 people), with 4% being Asian, 2% being Black and 2% being Mixed/ Other.

Racism and ableism are prevalent in the societies in which we live and it can be very difficult to navigate day-to-day life, particularly for those with learning disabilities.

Isabel Taylor, Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) explains that “The risk of living in poverty for Black disabled people in the UK is unacceptably high. Black people are more likely to experience in-work poverty, to be employed in insecure work, and to face housing costs that are unaffordable.”

Systemic issues like this have led to many black differently-abled individuals feeling like they are to go through life unsupported.

Moreover, a study by Cambridge Black British Voices (BVV) of nearly 1000 Black respondents noted that three-quarters of Black Brits believe that Black disabled people face an additional layer of discrimination in society, and a large majority of those surveyed believe the needs of Black people who are differently abled remain side-lined in the UK.

For example, as noted by Disability Rights UK, a black Disabled woman can’t just be ‘Black’ when she is in an anti-racist space or be ‘only Disabled’ when she is in a disability justice space due to “double discrimination”.

Just some of these issues that black disabled individuals face are:

• Racist attitudes
• Institutional racism
• Disablist attitudes
• Institutional disablism
• Poverty
• Language
• Lack of terminology in some community languages
• Lack of cultural knowledge
• Health professionals’ assumptions and attitudes
• Poor quality of care

With invisibility and lack of awareness at the core of the problem, black people with disabilities are facing barriers when it comes to climbing the social ladder and getting equal access to opportunities, from education to employment.

But there are many things majority communities can do to support:

• Upskill yourself when it comes to cultural intelligence: this means becoming aware of differently abled people in our society who are also from different ethnic backgrounds. This can aid you in understanding how to best assist, support and speak to them to make everyone feel like they can belong, particularly in the workplace.

• Advocate and show up as an ally: if you see someone struggling to be heard or to get the same access to opportunities, use your privilege to champion their voice.

• Celebrate the unique identities that make up society, showing a willingness to learn, compassion, and patience.

We had a chat with CEO of Disability Rights UK, Kamran Mallick who spoke of the systematic barriers in place that exclude those who are differently abled, from physical impairments to learning disabilities.

“There are artificial barriers that we’ve created as a society and those are the things that disable us, not the health condition”, says Mallick.

As a wheelchair user, Mallick openly described the multiple setbacks he faces when applying for a job, from both an accessibility and bias standpoint.

“When I started looking for work, I used to go to recruitment agencies and quite often I would arrive at their building and I couldn’t even get through their front door because there’d be a step, or the door might be too narrow, and the meeting rooms were upstairs. It was excluding straight away”, he says.

Mallick also noted that some recruiters saw how he looked and felt he would be a more difficult pitch to their clients because he was differently abled.

“The stereotypes are that disabled people are not as capable and that’s just not true, but they will cost your business more money because you’re going to have to make reasonable adjustments”, says Mallick.

Within the disabled community, more people choose to go down the self-employment route, becoming entrepreneurs for example, compared to non-disabled people.

Moreover, it’s even more of a double-edged sword if you have an intersectional identity. Mallick is of Pakistani heritage and this, in conjunction with his disability, makes him a target of multi-layered discrimination in and outside the workplace.

Consequently, when it comes to employment, those with disabilities and those from underrepresented backgrounds are often unable to rise the social mobility ladder or taking low-paying jobs in the service industry, in contrast to the majority who sit at the top of such institutions and organisations.

But for Mallick and the rest of the differently abled population, representation can really make a difference.

Even as we watch this year’s Paralympics, witnessing differently abled people achieve greatness can hugely impact the confidence and self-esteem of those with disabilities, as it transforms the perception of what society tells them they can achieve.

Nonetheless, there is a long way to go when it comes to the global workforce.

“When you’re out and about, do you see disabled people as doctors, as nurses, as engineers, as accountants, as lawyers? Why is it that those people are not getting to those positions?”, Mallick says.

As Mallick points out, the mobility outcomes of people who are differently abled are consistently worse than those without a disability, across occupation, education and housing.

For example, according to the government, only 16% of people with a disability were upwardly mobile into the professional classes, compared with 38% from the higher-professional class who were downwardly mobile into the working classes.

When it comes to job insecurity and social mobility, access, resources, representation and education seem to be the solutions to moving to a more equitable future for those with disabilities.

Nonetheless, it’s also about encouraging the current workforce of change-makers and pioneers to lead consciously.

Mallick believes that to be an inclusive leader, “you must be a good listener and facilitate a culture of trust and open conversations”.

And like he explained earlier, the barriers start and end with the systems we already have in place.

So when you enter your workplace tomorrow morning, take a look around and think about how much more you can do for the differently abled community and what changes you can facilitate now and in the future.

Being an inclusive, conscious leader starts with us.

Welcome to Elevated Conversations, the podcast for conscious brave leaders, showcasing how to disrupt traditional recruitment practices, retain the best underrepresented talent in the market and create dynamic, diverse teams with leaders well-versed in inclusion and belonging. Hosted by Christina Brooks, Founder and CEO of Ruebik, a leading talent attraction agency, Monique Carayol, Founder of Your New Avenue, a leadership & talent development consultancy, and Tacita Small, Founder and visionary behind The Small HR Company.

Welcome to Elevated Conversations, the podcast for conscious, brave leaders, showcasing how to disrupt traditional recruitment practices, retain the best underrepresented talent in the market and create dynamic, diverse teams with leaders well-versed in inclusion and belonging. Hosted by Christina Brooks, Founder and CEO of Ruebik, a leading talent attraction agency and consultancy, Monique Carayol, Founder of Your New Avenue, a leadership & talent development consultancy, and Tacita Small, Founder and visionary behind The Small HR Company.

Written By: Kimia Afzal

Much of the time, when a neurodivergent individual enters an organisation, the work environment is not inclusive and ready to embrace them.

For the employer, being aware of the sensitivities that affect those who are neurodiverse and creating an inclusive working environment that enables all employees to be the best version of themselves is a quick win.

Here are some tips to make the transition into the workplace for neurodivergent people a seamless one:

Ordinary HR practices are excluding and while you may think these reasonable adjustments are just ‘nice to have’, the numbers show us that embracing neurodiversity is empirical to achieving success in business and representing the society that we live in.

Written By: Kimia Afzal

Awareness of neurodiversity has improved in the last decade and we are seeing a shift in society’s attitudes towards inclusion, as well as mental health and wellbeing. According to Spill Chat, 81% of workplaces have increased their focus on employee mental health after the Covid-19 pandemic where livelihood instabilities caused an increase in mental health problems.

Important conversations and educational resources are being pushed for with regards to neurodiversity and how to support one another.

However, in the workplace, neurodivergent employees continue to face an array of difficulties as the attitudes and services of organisations, surrounding mental health, aren’t quite meeting the demands.

A 2023 study at Birkbeck, University of London, found that 65% of neurodivergent employees fear discrimination from management despite UK businesses promoting neurodiverse workplaces. They often fear they will face hiring biases, be ‘othered’, and fail to move up the the career ladder due to traditional interviewing techniques.

What this tells us is that organisations need to do more to accommodate neurodiversity.

Neurodivergent employees have vital creative skills when it comes to their performance at work and many of these skills will be top skills valued by employers in 2025, according to the World Economic Forum. They are likely to demonstrate some of the following: innovative thinking, problem solving, good memory, attention to detail, creativity, the ability to hyper-focus and be authentic at work.

Not to mention, Neurodivergent employees are also proven to help businesses to thrive, particularly in IT and Tech, to overcome difficulties and increase output success.

According to the Harvard Business Review, German software company SAP and HP Enterprise reported examples of neurodivergent employees’ participating on teams that generated significant innovations (one, at SAP, helped develop a technical fix worth an estimated $40 million in savings).

So how can we offer inclusive hiring practices to encourage more neurodivergent individuals into organisations?

The hiring process plays an integral role in making candidates feel that they can bring their best authentic selves into the workforce. So disrupt how we recruit, listen to neurodiverse candidates and give them the chance they deserve to showcase their talent!

Written By: Kimia Afzal

When employees hear that they will be assessed through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), a cloud of stress and anxiety can form above their heads.

A KPI is a way for organisations to measure how much revenue an employee is bringing in for the company.

Although revenue is important for growth, a business is dependent on much more than that to keep afloat. In industries like retail and manufacturing, employees can consistently be run through a loop and overworked due to unrealistically high targets.

Ironically, something designed to measure an employees’ value, often leaves employees feeling more undervalued than ever before. And reducing people to numbers can cause performance trends to stagnate further and a negative workplace culture can form as a result.

So when it comes to maintaining equity and keeping employees in high spirits at work, you want to make sure that employees are being judged fairly for their abilities, able to reach manageable targets and maintain their health and wellbeing.

One of the easiest ways to fix this broken system is to employ well-designed KPIs to measure rates of success in your company and team in a healthy, balanced way, rather than solely relying on revenue per employee.

What is a well-designed KPI?

A well-designed key performance indicator will vary company to company and will take a number of different factors into account. Rather than solely focusing on statistics, employers can look to customer and employee satisfaction, as well as external factors, to assess how someone is doing within the organisation and understand why this might be.

How can well-designed KPI be achieved?

  1. Firstly, you must make note of a clear realistic objective as a team. Your employees know how their job role functions and in order to keep the KPI reviews collaborative, there needs to be open communication about what works and what doesn’t. This makes sure that everyone is comfortable with the goals and is on the same page. This way you are offering support, leading to an increase in engagement, confidence, and accountability.
  2. Be open-minded – KPI’s are not always going to be a reflector of an employee’s performance because there may be other affecting external factors. For example, if someone is not making as many sales as they normally would in retail, we might consider that this may be down to the UK being in a cost of living crisis.
  3. Customizing your KPIs to the role/person – you can measure output, input, outcome and process of the KPIs, also looking at quantity, quality, time, cost, or satisfaction, reflective of the work. It all depends on the scope of the employees role and how much they collaborate with others too.
  4. Take a deeper look to see how your employee feels about work – Are they happy in this job role, for example? Might their skills be better suited to another role in the business? Employee wellbeing and performance are inextricably linked and if there is something happening in an employee’s personal life, their performance at work can be affected. According to a Gallup study in 2019, if employees had higher wellbeing in year one, they would tend to have higher engagement at work in year two as well as increased positive change in wellbeing in year two. So it’s wise to consider that your employee might just need some support!
  5. Use the review of KPIs not to diminish your employee, but to see what can be learned for next time. What are the issues and gaps that need improvement? How can you all make these changes? Is there a more efficient way to work internally and externally?

Ultimately, your employees need to feel valued and improving traditional KPI systems will only serve to improve your employee’s morale and performance at work.

As we reach springtime, many companies are making headway in their new year’s resolutions when it comes to prioritizing, retaining and developing their underrepresented talent.

But it seems that not all companies understand the value of DEI, as many of them are jumping on the bandwagon and quietly quitting their duty of creating a more inclusive workplace; Learning and development programs are being downsized, DEI budgets are being cut, DEI job postings have disappeared and big names are retreating on the commitments they made during the pandemic.

Some companies are even re-branding DEI to the term “culture” on their company survey, creating a real nuance around what diversity, equity and inclusion means today and leaving us worried about the state of the global workforce.

Nuance might be what they’re after but hoping that we can forget about DEI and focus on the “quick wins” and work “culture” is unrealistic, not to mention unprofitable.

According to 2019 data from Mckinsey, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in their executive teams are 25% more likely to have above average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile, and companies with the most ethnically/culturally diverse executive teams are 36% more likely to outperform on profitability.

In other words, the penalty for neglecting DEI is only growing.

So, what can we do to be the change-makers while also getting a return on our DEI investments?

Although it might be uncomfortable to turn what we’ve always done on its head, these changes can afford us tangible, long-lasting wins.

Having a more diverse, equal and inclusive workforce has been proven seven times over to inspire innovative ideas, successful decision-making, supportive and trustworthy working environments, and a higher employee engagement.

So think twice before changing your focus from DEI to “culture”, because the end goal is still and will always be diversity, equity, and inclusion.