Becca spoke with us about why inclusion is so vital in the workplace, and what barriers companies must address to make this a reality. We spoke in a separate article about her journey with autism and what advice she would give to newly diagnosed folk.
Becca Lory Hector is an award-winning, best-selling author, and engaging trainer and speaker with 8+ years of experience in the Autism, Neurodiversity and Disability landscape. She is an openly Autistic Professional on a mission to close the disability gap in leadership by working with companies to attract and retain disabled talent.
Below, Becca shares her expertise around inclusivity, autistic leaders, and what workplaces should do better to hire and retain disabled talent.
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What is Truly Inclusive Leadership, and why did you set it up?
Truly Inclusive Leadership is my tiny little business that I run by myself. After healing from my own struggles with employment, I was ready to share my stories and push for improvements in the workplace. I focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, with particular expertise relating to autistic and neurodivergent individuals. Belonging is so crucial, and often missing in workplaces, but it’s the reason people stay (or don’t). There are lots of people focused on accessibility and accommodations, but what I’m most interested in is workplace wellness. Making sure the environment works, the company culture fosters belonging for all, and that everyone is getting the support they need to thrive.
It’s called “Truly Inclusive Leadership” because I’m a big believer that if we don’t do this from the top down, it will never be successful. It doesn’t matter how many programmes you have running about diversity and inclusion as an organisation, if the leadership isn’t a visible and active representation of that - it won’t work. You need more diverse leadership in visible decision making roles. And others in leadership roles need to learn how to be more inclusive in all that they do.
What are some of the most common barriers for autistic people getting into leadership positions?
The top three barriers are stigma, bias, and ableism. Autistic people often miss out on professional development opportunities like networking and mentoring, so they don’t move up. Unconscious bias leads to assumptions about our capabilities, that we are not capable of leadership roles, so they are denied without us even trying. Stigma around disability makes others uncomfortable, and reinforces stereotypes of what a disabled person can or can’t do. The biases people carry about certain labels will be with them in every interaction. It’s not necessarily intentional, but without an awareness you walk around reinforcing these issues over and over. These biases and stereotypes impede our progress at every step.
Why should companies hire autistic people into leadership positions?
Autistic individuals are inherently resilient - we have to be to survive - that is a great quality in a leader. We are often excellent at recognizing patterns, which can help cut through the “noise” in complex decision making. We rarely participate in groupthink, meaning we are less susceptible to peer pressure, and can think outside the box to come up with truly new ideas. Our logical thinking allows us to devise unique solutions and make good decisions without being clouded by emotion or taking things personally. All of these qualities make us exceptional leaders.
What are three things hiring managers should do to ensure recruitment processes are accessible to autistic candidates?
Think Beyond Recruitment: Accessibility should extend beyond the hiring process. Consider the entire employee lifecycle, including onboarding, company policies, and day-to-day operations.
Improve Onboarding: This is the most “expensive” time with an employee, and so many places get it wrong, causing people to leave. Communication is key. Ensure that new hires understand who to contact, how things work, and provide mentors. Simplify processes like requesting accommodations and make necessary information easily accessible. If I turned up to a new job and there was a page in the employee handbook that linked me to a simple form on how to get accommodations, I would fall over and say this is somewhere I want to stay! It’s not expensive, and it doesn’t seem very “big”, but a lot of those small things - done badly - can quickly add up to someone not feeling wanted, or included, and will ultimately cause them to leave. Do these things with employees’ needs in mind, not the company’s.
Embed Inclusion in Company Culture: Inclusion should be part of every process, event, and interaction. Regularly ask employees what they need and follow through on their feedback. Ensure company practices are genuinely inclusive, making everyone feel welcomed and valued. Check that HR are responding appropriately when someone asks for accommodations - validating people with “I see that is your need, let’s see what we can do”, not challenging and isolating with “I don’t understand why you would need that, we can’t help”.
Any final thoughts on inclusivity in the workplace?
I cannot state this point strongly enough. Inclusivity has to be part of the lifeblood that runs through an organisation. Every process, every event, every meeting, every interaction. Inclusion has to be part of every one of those things, and it is everyone’s job to ensure everything is as open to as many people as possible. There might be the odd occasion where people have competing disability needs, for example, but you have to be a company that acknowledges “we are all different, how can we accommodate as much as possible as often as possible”.
Those tiny points like employee handbooks, having agendas for meetings (and actually following them!), transcribing or recording meetings… It is so easy to make these tiny steps, but they can make a huge difference because they really set the tone. On top of that, they often benefit everyone, not just disabled employees.
Disabled and autistic individuals make amazing leaders and deserve the chance to prove what we are capable of. We need that equity to do what we’ve been denied - but are perfectly capable of doing - for a really long time.
Links to Becca’s work
Author of Always Bring Your Sunglasses