What Last Year’s GAIN Neurodiversity Survey Taught Usand Why Your Voice Matters Again This Year

vic
4 days ago
3 min read

and Why Your Voice Matters Again This Year

Last year, as every year since our membership launched in 2022, our members took the time to share their experiences in GAIN’s annual neurodiversity survey.

The stories, data and reflections that came back to us were powerful, and they’ve directly shaped the work we do and the recommendations we make to companies.

This year, we’re launching our 2025 Neurodiversity Survey, and we’d love for you to take part. But before we look ahead, we want to share a little about what your voices taught us last time.

Seeing the full picture

Our 2024 survey was the broadest and deepest we’ve ever run. It painted a vivid picture of the daily working lives of neurodivergent people, and explored how our community navigates everything from job adverts and recruitment processes to promotions, diagnosis, and day-to-day workplace culture.

One of the clearest findings was that neurodivergence is part of every corner of the workplace, but that support and understanding are far from universal. And, in accordance with Equalities Act, employers cannot assume or expect formal, medical documentation as a prerequisite for every little change they make. Around half of our members had a formal diagnosis, and a striking 90% received that diagnosis in adulthood, meaning most started their working lives, and may have worked for years or decades, with no formal diagnosis.

What we learned

The data showed us some clear opportunities for change.

Role models matter. When people could identify neurodivergent role models in their organisation, especially in senior roles, they consistently rated their company as more inclusive. They were also less likely to want to leave their job or the industry altogether. That finding has directly shaped how we advise companies and benchmark their progress. We now place even greater emphasis on visible role models, allyship, and leadership engagement. And we adapt our guidance on role model visibility around targeting the interactions that are most visible and impactful to employees at all levels.
Masking takes a heavy toll. Many respondents described the pressure to hide or downplay their neurodivergent traits, and unmasking was seen as a career risk with many individuals citing poor performance reviews that directly targeted their neurodivergent traits. Masking was widely seen as exhausting, damaging to mental health, and counter-productive for focus and productivity. We’ve since woven these insights into our workshop content and benchmark recommendations, encouraging employers to create space where people can safely “drop the mask”, whether that’s flexible working, camera-off meetings, or private focus areas.
Inclusivity is tangible. Where companies had employee resource groups (ERGs) and visible champions for neurodiversity, employees consistently felt safer, more supported and more likely to stay. Small actions, like having a network or a manager who listens, really do make a big difference.

And we learned that fairness in career progression still needs attention. We don't yet have enough data to confirm a pay gap, but performance and promotion disparities persist between neurotypical and neurodivergent employees, and between men and women. That’s now part of how we support members to build more equitable talent pipelines, and our workshops aimed at HR and hiring managers emphasises the importance of salary transparency in helping build confidence in the equity of opportunities employees receive.

Turning insight into action

Because of your feedback, GAIN’s work with members now looks different. We’ve updated our benchmarking frameworks to include leadership visibility and role-model impact. Our workshops have been adapted and improved to ensure our members can develop psychologically safe environments.

Your insights quite literally changed how we help the industry to help you.

You can access the full 2024 survey report here, if you want to see everything your contributions taught us.

Why your voice matters again

The only way we can keep moving forward is by continuing to listen. Every experience, every reflection, every data point helps us understand what’s working and what still needs to change.

So if you’re neurodivergent, a parent or carer to a neurodivergent child, an ally, a manager or just someone who wants to help us get a clearer picture of the landscape ahead of us, we’d love you to take part in this year’s survey. It’s your chance to shape what comes next.

This year, we’re asking questions about:

Who you are; your neurotype, background and experiences.
Your work life; whether you feel safe, supported and included.
Recruitment and accessibility; what helps or hinders you in finding work.
Career progression; seniority, pay and opportunities for growth. What you need from us; resources, community, advocacy and more.
For Managers and Recruiters; how you make decisions about employee performance, adjustments and hiring