How Building an Inclusive Workplace for Autistic Employees Benefits Everyone

Around 70 to 90 percent of autistic adults are underemployed. More than half (53 percent) of young adults with autism have never worked for pay since graduating high school. These staggering statistics led the Simons Foundation to establish the Autism in the Workplace program in 2017. Autism in the Workplace was built to increase employment opportunities for autistic candidates at the Simons Foundation and, as of 2023, external organizations as well.

At the Simons Foundation, we started by addressing our recruiting, hiring, management and support structures. As a result, we have established a more inclusive workplace. These efforts have allowed us to tap into the talent that autistic individuals bring with them to work each day. Through these inclusive hiring efforts, autistic candidates have been hired into a variety of positions across the organization, from administration to scientific research, reflecting the significant diversity of skills within the autistic community.

But we knew we had to go even further and leverage our resources and knowledge to be proactive in addressing the inequities that autistic adults face when applying for jobs and navigating the workplace. We launched an inclusive internship program to provide work experience for adults with autism. Many autistic adults lack such experience, which makes it harder for them to secure competitive employment.

We designed the three-month program to create opportunities for autistic young adults to gain paid work experience and become more competitive in the job market. Now in its fifth year, the internship program provides candidates with on-the-job experience, mentoring and support, and the chance to contribute as valued members of professional teams. Interns also attend workshops on topics such as time management, communication, professional office skills and career development.

The foundation has tremendously benefitted from this program. In addition to the completion of projects, autistic employees have brought with them considerable skill and a diversity of perspectives. As mentioned by hiring managers in the video, those employees have contributed to improved communication across divisions.

The success of this program quickly became clear to us, and we wanted to share our model with other employers. To do so, we launched a grantmaking program. In 2023, the program made its first set of grants to three organizations to fund the creation of inclusive internships, and we plan to make more grants in the coming years. Funding covers the cost of training for managers and staff, recruiting, intern salaries and support calls throughout the internship period. These grants create more opportunities for autistic individuals while introducing employers to the structures and processes that prepare their organizations to recruit and retain autistic talent.

We understand that creating and sustaining an inclusive workplace brings positive change to an organization and impacts the career trajectory of autistic individuals. We’ve also seen firsthand that these changes are beneficial to everyone. An incredible opportunity exists for employers to adapt their respective work environments, creating workplaces where every individual feels valued and empowered and can thrive.

The Simons Foundation seeks to build community with like-minded employers interested in starting or who already have programs supporting autistic talent. For more information, please contact us at [email protected].

The Autism in the Workplace program was started with the goal of increasing employment opportunities for people with autism. Researchers have estimated that across the United States, roughly 70–90 percent of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed. Autism in the Workplace is committed to improving neurodiversity at the Simons Foundation and ultimately across industries through our three initiatives: inclusive hiring, early career internships and outreach.