A good day for the Neurodiverse...especially women....

[colly]

I think there are circumstances where it is allowed, at least here. I've been turned down for a job because they needed a woman, but that was in a residential psych care clinic and they needed 1male and 1 female workshop leader. Just my luck it was the woman retiring...

I can see that. Some cases are exceptional.

OTOH suppose you ''identified'' as a woman? The cans of worms are erupting even as we speak.

 

[tom73]

There's a difference between a Label and a diagnosis; a "Label" is a superficial classification, usually made about a group, whereas a diagnosis is applied to an individual, usually after some considerable observation, and gives us a context to view a certain behaviour.

Or sadly for a company to meet a tick box to look good to the outside.
Diversity often gets stuck and stops at sex or colour the standard mind set of seeing diversity and equally like tuna n sweetcorn. Only compounds it only when training brakes the mind set can you really see what most never even think about.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I can see that. Some cases are exceptional.

OTOH suppose you ''identified'' as a woman? The cans of worms are erupting even as we speak.

To be honest, I doubt that would fly in my sector; it's very popular amongst activists but professionals in social care aren't really taking part.

 

[Jody]

Hire more women ?

So an ad reads MEN required for intellegence work. You would be happy with that?

Funny thing then that I though discrimination of the grounds of gender was in fact not legal. Maybe have that wrong.

TBH I really don't give too hoots because it's an article out of The Grauniad, but yes a group called Code First Girls are agitating. They work with GCHQ and BAE Systems apparently.

Surely ALL recruitment for ANY post should be totally gender non-specific.

They are asking for more women to apply.

That's it.

Is that such a bad thing?

 

[Andy in Germany]

Or sadly for a company to meet a tick box to look good to the outside.
Diversity often gets stuck and stops at sex or colour the standard mind set of seeing diversity and equally like tuna n sweetcorn. Only compounds it only when training brakes the mind set can you really see what most never even think about.

That's a point to make to the activists. Those of us in the social sector are generally working with people with psychological or mental issues or disabilities and frankly we've got our work cut out dealing with that.

For legal and employment purposes our system classifies a "disabled person" (physical, mental or psychological) as someone with a diagnosis and ID. People with a disabled ID get extra assistance, either in a protected workshop or to get work in an integrative company or in the regular job market.

A small quirk of the system is that someone holding a disabled ID doesn't have to tell their employer, in fact they are legally allowed to lie and say they don't have one. Of course they then lose all the extra assistance given to people with disabilities.

 

[Andy in Germany]

They are asking for more women to apply.

That's it.

Is that such a bad thing?

I think the point is that if they asked for more men, it would be very heavily criticised.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

On a slightly related note, and please forgive me if any of this comes over as disrespectful, as I really do mean it in a very positive way, but I had the privilege of attending a seminar about recruiting people that struggle to find employment because of their health diagnosis. It's an incredibly large, undertapped and undervalued section of society.

A big focus was on people with Downs Syndrome, and the initiative was prompted by a CEO of a large organisation whose own child had it. Initially, they were taken on in roles that were mundane and repetitive, and they flourished, and pretty much had to be told to go home, or they'd have kept going all night. It was soon realised how many other roles they could be employed in, and every employer couldn't speak highly enough of them, and other staff felt they had gained so much from the experience, and morale was raised immensely.

I have experience of working along side people with a variety of physical disabilities, and found their approach to life, work and problems inspirational, and it put many of the more able bodied colleagues to shame.

It was also estimated that if done correctly, the adaptations are minimal, and are more than made up for by an increase in productivity, especially if the freedom and spending power of those individuals was costed in.

 

[All uphill]

I think the point is that if they asked for more men, it would be very heavily criticised.

I wonder if that is true for activities which have traditionally predominantly filled by women.

Going back a few years I know there were attempts to encourage more men to consider primary school teaching, for example.

 

[Oldhippy]

On a slightly related note, and please forgive me if any of this comes over as disrespectful, as I really do mean it in a very positive way, but I had the privilege of attending a seminar about recruiting people that struggle to find employment because of their health diagnosis. It's an incredibly large, undertapped and undervalued section of society.

A big focus was on people with Downs Syndrome, and the initiative was prompted by a CEO of a large organisation whose own child had it. Initially, they were taken on in roles that were mundane and repetitive, and they flourished, and pretty much had to be told to go home, or they'd have kept going all night. It was soon realised how many other roles they could be employed in, and every employer couldn't speak highly enough of them, and other staff felt they had gained so much from the experience, and morale was raised immensely.

I have experience of working along side people with a variety of physical disabilities, and found their approach to life, work and problems inspirational, and it put many of the more able bodied colleagues to shame.

It was also estimated that if done correctly, the adaptations are minimal, and are more than made up for by an increase in productivity, especially if the freedom and spending power of those individuals was costed in.

If only all would recognise this the world would be a better place indeed.

 

[Jody]

I think the point is that if they asked for more men, it would be very heavily criticised.

Of course it would as men are the majority in those work places.

Would it be criticised if a setting dominated by women asked for more men to apply?

No it wouldn't.

Because they aren't telling women they can't apply

 

[colly]

To be honest, I doubt that would fly in my sector; it's very popular amongst activists but professionals in social care aren't really taking part.

Good.

 

[colly]

They are asking for more women to apply.

That's it.

Is that such a bad thing?

No. It's no bad thing. Neither is employing neurodiverse men either.

In this case it should be either. I see no justification for 'bigging' up the fact the women need to be encouraged rather than men.
Of course it's a newspaper article so any truth or veracity will, most lilkely, not be in the reckoning.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Of course it would as men are the majority in those work places.

Would it be criticised if a setting dominated by women asked for more men to apply?

No it wouldn't.

Because they aren't telling women they can't apply

Don't be so sure: as I said, when the roles are reversed for things like International Men's Day, to mirror International Women's Day, then there is a negative reaction.

Also, and I'm only speaking for Germany here: the push to get men into traditionally female jobs is nowhere near as stroing as the push to get women into traditional (high value) men's roles. There's also considerably more rescources put into getting women (back) into work than men.

 

[Andy in Germany]

On a slightly related note, and please forgive me if any of this comes over as disrespectful, as I really do mean it in a very positive way, but I had the privilege of attending a seminar about recruiting people that struggle to find employment because of their health diagnosis. It's an incredibly large, undertapped and undervalued section of society.

A big focus was on people with Downs Syndrome, and the initiative was prompted by a CEO of a large organisation whose own child had it. Initially, they were taken on in roles that were mundane and repetitive, and they flourished, and pretty much had to be told to go home, or they'd have kept going all night. It was soon realised how many other roles they could be employed in, and every employer couldn't speak highly enough of them, and other staff felt they had gained so much from the experience, and morale was raised immensely.

I have experience of working along side people with a variety of physical disabilities, and found their approach to life, work and problems inspirational, and it put many of the more able bodied colleagues to shame.

It was also estimated that if done correctly, the adaptations are minimal, and are more than made up for by an increase in productivity, especially if the freedom and spending power of those individuals was costed in.

I must admit, I do miss working with people with mental disabilities like Downs Syndrome. We had one lad just as you described, he'd just started in the protected workshop we were in. He packed bolts into bags all day and absolutely loved it.
One day he wouldn't go to his lunch break and grabbed onto his chair, so my supervisor had to drag him and the chair out into the corridor and lock him out.

 

[craigwend]

I found the documentary 'Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism' a really useful insight into female autism and it's differences in presentation to male autism a few months back. The more I learn the more I think we are at beginnings of understanding differences in human nature. I spoke to someone who assesses autism a few months back and she explained the hardest thing is explaining to those who have come for an assessment they don't have autism, though recognising there is something - though her role is limited to autism assessment.