Jane Hatton, founder and chief executive of Evenbreak, a job board for disabled candidates, said neurodiversity and conditions like autism had “never been heard of” even just a few years ago.
“Children were seen as being a bit aloof, naughty or a bit thick," she said. "Neurodiversity is an acknowledgement that we process things in a different way.”
She added 80-90% of disabled people had a hidden disability. “Most of us who are disabled don’t look disabled. So ’how do you know?’ You won’t unless they have chosen to tell you. In women and girls particularly, an awful lot have learned to mask who they really are.”
Speaking at TTG’s Fairer Travel Diversity Forum on Wednesday (5 July), Hatton said 15% of the population had neurodivergent conditions, adding: “That’s 15% of travellers.”
Travel brands needed to think more how they marketed to neurodiverse groups, she said, explaining work with Expedia had identified the need for more information such as whether the hotel had sufficient quiet space or if it was by a busy road.
She gave the example of cruise adverts that portrayed “lots of noise and partying”, whereas “some people go away to relax”.
In recruitment, she said the IT industry was doing well attracting neurodiverse people as this was one industry where “organisations ask people to demonstrate their skills rather than talk about it in an interview”.
She urged travel to be proactive and considerate: “It is a business imperative. It’s not about pity, it’s about ‘we need that talent in our organisation’.”
Hatton said Evenbreak gave candidates confidence to apply because companies like Virgin Atlantic were paying to target them specifically.
Once they were recruited, Hatton said some disabilities meant things like hotdesking were distressing because of the need for predictability, while communication often had to be done in different ways. “We have had team members that literally take things literally.”
She added: “Every politician should be autistic; they would say what they think, they would tell the truth.”
