Natalia Lyckowski, Global Neurodiversity Advancement Leader at IBM
In the past decade, we have seen an increasing number of large companies starting Neurodiversity at Work programs, or Autism at Work initiatives. These work by initiating hiring programs that reach out to neurominorities, recruiting for specific roles that can be tailored to specialist thinking or aligned with the skills associated with a minority neurotype.
In the UK, GCHQ has a program for dyslexia and neurodiversity. In 2013, SAP started their Autism at Work program, one of the groundbreakers. Michael Bernick, reporting for Forbes in 2021, estimated that the most mature program semployed around 800 Autists and for new adopters, around 1,500 Autists. The lessons learned so far include how accommodations for this group go beyond a few sensory buffers, widening the scope to other neurominorities, and making strengths a central theme in disability hiring. IBM’s Neurodiversity program has useful lessons and pointers for those seeking additional resources.
How Did The Neurodiversity Program At IBM Get Started?
Natalia Lyckowski, global neurodiversity advancement leader at IBM, described how their program started with an internal affinity group.
“The Neurodiversity@IBM program started in 2015 when a very passionate and dedicated IBMer attended the United Nations World Autism Day and saw what other companies were doing in this space. He started a Business Resource Group (BRG) and support grew quickly. Our first pilot hiring effort was in 2017 and the award-winning documentary “When Neurodiversity Works” was produced to share the story. We started creating virtual safe spaces for the ‘actually autistic’ and ‘actually neurodivergent’ communities to come together for peer support and, more importantly, to represent the neurodivergent community and help steer the program.”
Starting with those who are already employed is a good first step. It shows that IBM is committed to the community and letting those with lived experiences drive the mission and values from the start. IBM’s five-minute video "Emergence of a Neurodivergent IBM" highlights the full story. It’s a common fallacy that the way to start a neurodiversity program is to bring outsiders in, when in any large company, there is already a cohort of ADHDers, dyslexics, dypraxics, ticcers, Autists and more. With a little bit of digging and creating safe spaces for conversations, there may already be resources that can help you create the right context for new hires.
IBM’s History With Neurodiversity And Disability Inclusion
Lyckowski explained that IBM has a long history of disability inclusion and neurodivergent leadership.
“One of our founders, Herman Hollerith, was supposedly neurodivergent and was known for jumping out of his classroom window whenever it was time for certain lessons like spelling. He earned an engineering degree from Columbia University at age 19, seven years later he invented the Punched Card Tabulator, and at age 32, merged his Tabulating Machine Company with the CTR Company that evolved into IBM.
IBM has embraced diversity for over 110 years. In 1914, we hired our first employee with a disability — 76 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. Diversity is not about simply checking a box – there is a strong business case for prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, and advancing the neurodivergent community globally is an integral part of that.”
IBM’s experience highlights that neurodiversity hiring initiatives can’t be tagged on as a sticking plaster. They have to land in a conducive environment where neurodivergent people can thrive. Neurodivergent people are vulnerable, more at risk of long-term unemployment, risks to emotional trauma and social isolation following a failed job placement. It’s simply not ethical to bring people in without considering whether you have the resources to support them and make reasonable disability accommodations. Lyckowski confirmed that IBM already has disability support infrastructure, with internal expertise to guide managers.
“IBM offers reasonable accommodations to job applicants and employees. Accommodations include working from home, or in a quieter office location, noise cancelling headphones, social contracting, etc. and are handled on a case-by-case basis as each person has unique needs. One of our goals is to ensure that our culture is welcoming to all, and people feel safe and secure to ask for what they may need to help them succeed.”
Inclusion Is All Of Us, Or It’s Not Inclusion, Is It?
One topic close to my heart is the intersectional, compound adverse impact of gender, race and ethnicity and other marginalizing identities for neurodivergent people. I’ve called out in the past that neurodiversity at work programs trend towards White, male, western, privileged industries and within that, prioritize autism which is known for the same bias in access to diagnosis. This is a serious call to action for the sector, and one that IBM is trying to address. Lyckowski describes their current approach to creating intersectional equity and diversifying neurodiversity at work.
“Today, we have initiatives around the world including North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Our main BRG has over 2,000 members to date and we’re seeing interest continue to grow. During our Neurodiversity Month celebrated in April, we had over 120,000 IBMers visit our internal Neurodiversity@IBM website. This year, our theme for Neurodiversity Month was “Crosspollinate”, and we focused on how neurodivergence intersects with all diversity factors. We held over 50 global events on topics such as ‘My journey as a Black female neurodivergent’ and ‘Neurodivergency & LGBTQ+ gender expansive’. Today, our goal is to build awareness, to increase acceptance, and to improve advancement of neurodivergent people both in IBM and our external communities.”
Sharing Best Practices
The IBM program is neurodivergent-led, including their Executive Sponsor and Community Leader. Lyckowski reports being a “proud neurodivergent person myself and parent to one. I am honored and blessed to be IBM’s Global Neurodiversity Advancement Leader.”
Sharing best practices and learning from each other while forging new initiatives in this space can be a productive way to make progress. IBM has free resources and news items to learn more and take inspiration from these authentic sector leaders.
· IBM Be Equal Diverse Abilities
