Public‑sector organisations across local government, health, education and policing continue to face severe workforce shortages, rising demand and escalating complexity. Against this backdrop, neurodiverse talent remains one of the most under‑recognised strategic assets, and the most consistently under‑utilised.

 

In January 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions reported that only 31% of autistic people are in employment, compared with 54.7% of disabled people overall. This represents a persistent and systemic gap in employment access. Meanwhile, the NHS continues to report record diagnostic waiting times for ADHD and autism, signalling both growing demand and the scale of neurodivergence within the population.
For senior public‑sector leaders, this is no longer a conversation about small adjustments, it is a strategic workforce imperative.

 

Firstly, what is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in cognitive functioning, information processing and communication. Parliamentary research emphasises that accurate estimates are difficult due to long diagnostic waits, access challenges and high levels of non‑disclosure.
NHS England’s neurodevelopmental data hub reinforces this picture: demand for ADHD and autism assessments continues to rise significantly across both children’s and adult services.

Beyond Challenges: Recognising the Strengths of Neurodivergent Talent

Public‑sector recruitment has traditionally emphasised behavioural styles, often to the detriment of neurodivergent candidates. But evidence from CIPD’s 2024 Neuroinclusion at Work report shows neurodivergent employees bring distinct strengths: deep focus, analytical rigour, pattern recognition, creativity and innovative problem‑solving.
These strengths closely align with public‑sector priorities in digital transformation, data analysis, safeguarding, service redesign and strategic decision‑making.

Structural Bias in Leadership Models

Across the public sector, leadership assessments continue to prioritise the Big Five personality traits, often using language that embeds bias. Introversion is frequently described in less socially desirable terms, which disadvantages many neurodivergent individuals whose communication or processing styles do not fit extroverted norms.
This has profound consequences for leadership pipeline diversity, often excluding individuals with exceptional capability simply because their leadership style differs from convention.

 

The State of Neuroinclusion in Public Sector Workplaces (2025–2026)

 

Employment Outcomes

• Autistic adults: 31% employment rate
• Disabled people overall: 54.7% employment rate

Recruitment Trends

• Job postings mentioning neurodiversity terms rose from 1% (2018) to 3.8% (2024). This growth signals rising interest, but not yet rising inclusion.

NHS Workforce Experience (WDES Data)

• Disabled staff continue to report higher levels of bullying, discrimination and inconsistent access to adjustments.
• At University Hospitals Birmingham, 71.8% of disabled staff report having necessary adjustments, meaning nearly 30% still do not.
• The WDES framework is essential to consistent improvement.

 

Organisational Culture & Leadership Gaps

CIPD data shows the gap between senior leaders’ perception of inclusion and neurodivergent employees lived experience remains substantial. Psychological safety remains low for many neurodivergent staff.

 

A Critical Missing Perspective: Your Senior Leaders May Be Neurodivergent Too

An increasingly important insight emerging across public‑sector organisations is this: Neurodiversity is not only a hiring issue, it is a leadership reality.

Because diagnostic access has historically been limited, many senior leaders:
⦁ are late‑diagnosed, often in their 40s, 50s or later
⦁ are undiagnosed, despite recognising traits in themselves
⦁ masked throughout their careers to fit narrowly defined leadership norms

Parliamentary research notes how significant under‑diagnosis and non‑disclosure remain, particularly in adults. NHS data shows sustained diagnostic demand across the adult population, further reinforcing this point.

This has major implications for leadership development:

• Many leaders have succeeded in spite of systems that were not designed for them.
• Many are operating without support or adjustments that could significantly enhance performance and wellbeing.
• Many lead in ways that do not fit standard behavioural frameworks, and are therefore undervalued or misunderstood.

 

Effective Neuroinclusion is not just about attracting new talent, it is about unlocking the full potential of the talent you already have.

 

Supporting late‑diagnosed or undiagnosed senior leaders strengthens:

• Performance
• Decision‑making
• Psychological safety
• Organisational culture
• Authenticity and leadership modelling

 

This is where inclusion becomes a strategic advantage, not simply a moral obligation.

 

Practical, Evidence‑Aligned Steps for Public Sector Inclusion

 

Inclusive Recruitment
Aligned with DWP and Parliamentary research findings:

• Remove unnecessary behavioural criteria.
• Provide interview questions in advance.
• Standardise and simplify processes.
• Train hiring managers with sector‑specific neurodiversity awareness.

Support Existing Staff, Not Just New Hires

• Proactively offer workplace adjustments to all staff.
• Normalise conversations about neurodivergence, including at senior levels.
• Integrate neuroinclusive practice into leadership development programmes.
• Review progression frameworks to remove behavioural bias.

Address Systemic Barriers

• Align with WDES and Public Sector Equality Duty frameworks.
• Use data from NHS Digital and national staff surveys to drive improvement.
• Build psychologically safe cultures where different communication styles are valued.

 

A 2026 Call to Action for Public Sector Leaders

The evidence from DWP, NHS England, Parliamentary Research and CIPD is clear:

• Neurodivergent people remain significantly under‑employed.
• Many neurodivergent staff, including senior leaders, are unsupported or unidentified.
• Organisations often overestimate their level of inclusion.
• Structural bias continues to shape recruitment, leadership expectations and workplace culture.

 

Your strategic leadership opportunity for 2026 is two-fold:

Redesign your systems to attract, assess and include neurodivergent talent.

1. Redesign your systems to attract, assess and include neurodivergent talent.
2. Support and develop the neurodivergent leaders you already have, even those who may not yet know they are neurodivergent.

Both actions are essential to building high‑performing, resilient and future‑ready public‑sector organisations.

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How GatenbySanderson Can Support You

GatenbySanderson’s Leadership & Talent Consultancy works with public sector organisations across local government, health, education, justice and regulation to:

• Assess leadership capability through inclusive, evidence‑based methodologies
• Support senior leaders (including late‑diagnosed neurodivergent leaders) to understand their strengths and operating styles
• Redesign recruitment and assessment processes to reduce structural bias
• Develop leadership programmes that increase psychological safety, team performance and strategic capacity
• Help boards and executive teams build cultures where diverse thinking thrives

Whether you are starting your Neuroinclusion journey or ready to embed deeper organisational change, our team can help you turn intention into measurable leadership impact.

To explore how we can support your organisation, please contact GatenbySanderson’s Leadership & Talent Consultancy team.

We would be delighted to partner with you on building a more inclusive, high‑performing and future‑ready leadership culture.