Navigating the Neurodivergent Glass Ceiling

Lists of impactful neurodivergent leaders often include "creative geniuses" such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson, but they rarely feature women. Even more seldom do they include Black women, Latina women, women of color, and those with non-dominant gender identities.

This raises the question: "Who is given the grace to be 'different' and still hold power?"

Something seems amiss when our identities, our very nature, become the determining factor in whether we are perceived as a creative genius or someone not quite up for the challenge.

What Are Neurodiversity and Neurodivergence?

Neurodiversity is a movement and belief system that posits brain-based differences as just that—differences, not flaws. These variations in brain types are as crucial for society and successful organizations as biodiversity is for the climate. The term "neurodiversity" was coined by Australian sociologist Judy Singer in the 1990s and has since been embraced by millions.

Neurodivergent or neurodivergence generally refers to minds wired uniquely compared to the "typical," such as those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or bipolar disorder, or those who identify as highly sensitive persons (HSPs).

We are all neurodiverse, meaning no two brains are exactly alike, but we aren't all neurodivergent.

Are differences like ADHD and dyslexia a superpower? A difference? A challenge? A condition? An identity? There's no single story. So, please take what feels supportive and leave the rest behind.

In my experience as a therapist, advocate, and individual with unique brain wiring, these conditions tend to bring both strengths and challenges. However, many of these challenges result from living in a world not designed for your specific brain type.

3 Systemic Issues That Hold Neurodivergent Women Back at Work

1. Gender Expectation Bias: A woman with dyslexia may face greater challenges in reading, writing, or note-taking. A woman with ADHD may struggle with organization or maintain a cluttered desk. Often, these women encounter harsher criticism for the same challenges compared to their male colleagues.

Consider the archetype of the creative genius with a messy desk, a situation often associated with ADHD. The first article I found when searching for "creative geniuses with a messy desk" featured an all-male cast, including Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Twain, and Tony Hsieh.

In a study led by Sarah Thébaud, a sociology professor at UC Santa Barbara, 624 people were shown a photo of a messy living room and kitchen or a tidy version of the same space. When told that a woman occupied the clean room, it was judged as less clean than when a man occupied it. When told that a woman occupied the messy room, she was thought to be less likely to be viewed positively by visitors and less comfortable with visitors.

In summary, research and popular culture tend to focus more on the challenges faced by women with "messy desks" rather than celebrating their potential strengths.

2. Workplace "Housekeeping" and Unpaid Labor: Women spend approximately 200 hours more each year on "non-promotable tasks" or "office housekeeping" compared to their male counterparts. These tasks include organizing birthday parties for colleagues, editing presentations, or leading employee resource groups. They may also include emotional contributions such as lending an ear or reaching out to a colleague in distress. Compared to men, women also take on an average of 3.2 times the amount of unpaid labor at home, such as caregiving, cooking, and cleaning.

Unpaid work is essential work. However, the hours spent can be a barrier when they go unrecognized and unrewarded or detract from a woman's ability to succeed compared to others. For women with conditions like ADHD or high sensitivity, the extra burden of nonessential tasks can be particularly challenging.

This is why one common workplace accommodation is the reduction of nonessential tasks. Leaders must not penalize women for saying no or saying yes less often in pursuit of their higher-order goals.

Returning home after a long workday, women often face the "second shift" of domestic responsibilities. In heterosexual couples, women often take on this unpaid labor more willingly when their male partners have difficulties with such tasks. However, when women have unique brain wiring, having men take on a heavier load can lead to friction, driven by differences in gender expectations and the common resistance to shifting norms.

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3. Diagnostic Gaps: The extent of diagnostic gaps for women and girls with unique brain wiring is astonishing:

• Boys are diagnosed with ADHD three times as often as girls.
• Boys are diagnosed with dyslexia more than twice as often as girls.
• Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to girls.

While the diagnostic gap for women is beginning to narrow in adulthood, women and girls still have learning and thinking differences recognized less frequently and much later in life.

The opportunity costs of late or missed diagnoses include missed opportunities to understand one's brain, receive necessary support, and access simple workplace accommodations that could make a significant difference.

Why This Matters

As the saying goes, "It's hard to be what you can't see." Neurodivergent women or nonbinary individuals at the top of the leadership ladder are all too rare. And, very often, neurodivergent female leaders who are senior leaders mask or don't reveal their identities publically to avoid very real stigma.

According to Fortune, women currently lead only 23 out of the Global 500 companies, an all-time high. This small pool becomes even smaller when considering women with stigmatized identities.

We need women who learn, think, look, and act differently to be visible at the highest levels of leadership for norms to change, and for the world to change. One step in the right direction is recognizing that the neurodivergent glass ceiling, which is especially pronounced for women and nonbinary persons, isn't based on the flaws in individuals—the core barriers are systemic and something we all play a role in shifting.