What our 2024 Individual Member Survey Taught Us: Part 4

The Power of Role Models: Why Visible Neurodiversity in Leadership Matters

When we asked our members last year about their future plans, one question stood out: do you see yourself staying in your industry for the next five years?

For many, the answer depended on something surprisingly simple; whether they could see someone like themselves thriving where they worked.

It turns out that seeing neurodivergent people represented in leadership isn’t just good for morale. It’s good for business, too.

What the data told us

Our survey showed a clear connection between visibility and belonging. Employees who could identify at least one neurodivergent role model; colleagues, managers, or senior leaders; were significantly less likely to be planning to leave their company.

Likewise, employees working for GAIN member organisations, where neuroinclusion is actively prioritised, were much more likely to describe their workplaces as inclusive overall. Among those employees, only 4–8% described other teams as “not at all engaged”, compared with 13–20% in other organisations.

Where visible role models existed, engagement among leadership and HR rose even higher. Respondents who couldn’t name any role models rated senior leaders as “very engaged” just 0–10% of the time, compared with 15–25% among those who could.

Behind those numbers are real people and stories.

One participant shared:

“Director of the company has been diagnosed Autistic and I am planning on having a discussion with them to be turned into an article on being Autistic in our workplace, hoping it will make more people notice that neuroinclusion is relevant to them!”

Another described how the absence of genuine understanding still causes harm:

“They would want to be seen to be inclusive but don’t really mean it... if I’m achieving my goals, I don’t need reasonable adjustments — the wellbeing of a high-masking individual post-work is not taken into account.”

And others spoke of the hope that visible leadership brings:

“Small organisation, senior leaders include neurodiverse individuals — strong awareness and accommodation part of the culture.”

These insights underline a truth many of us already know instinctively: when neurodivergent people can see others like us succeeding, leading, and being open about their identity, it changes what feels possible. It's that same message we hear in stories of representation for people from all marginalised groups when it comes to the impact of representation.

What we learned from this

The impact of visible role models is profound , both emotionally and practically.

• From a human perspective, it tells neurodivergent employees that we belong, and that difference is valued rather than hidden.

• From a practical perspective, it ensures that neurodivergent voices are present in decisions that shape workplace culture and policies which impact us.

• And from a business perspective, it highlights that retention, one of the industry’s biggest challenges, is directly linked to representation.

You can’t close a talent gap if people feel they have no future in your organisation.

This data reinforces that true inclusion isn’t only about policies or training. It’s about who’s in the room when decisions are made, and who others see when they look up.

How this changed the advice we give companies

We’ve since reshaped how we advise businesses and how we process our benchmarking data.

Our 2025 benchmarks now include deeper questions about role models and leadership engagement, allowing us to measure more precisely how representation influences culture.

We’ve also made our advice to companies more specific. We now help leaders understand how to act as visible ambassadors; from sharing lived experience, to sponsoring neurodivergent employee networks, to modelling acceptance through their everyday decisions.

This isn’t just about raising awareness; it’s about building cultures where difference is normalised, and where leadership itself reflects the diversity of the workforce.

Why we need your voice this year

A single year’s data is a snapshot. But what we need now is a timeline, and evidence of how visibility and inclusion evolve, and how our advice to employers translates into real-world change.

To do that, we need more data from across the industry.

GAIN member companies alone represent over 89,000 employees across the UK. The more people who take part, the more accurately we can show the business impact of neuroinclusion. And not just in wellbeing, but in retention, engagement, and performance.

We want companies to act because it’s the right thing to do. But when we can demonstrate the tangible benefits, that inclusive workplaces keep great people, and that visible role models make teams stronger, our message becomes impossible to ignore.

Be part of the next chapter

If you’re neurodivergent, a parent or carer, or someone working to make your organisation more inclusive, your experience matters. Every response helps us build the evidence to make workplaces not only aware of neurodiversity, but genuinely shaped by it.

👉 Take the 2025 GAIN Survey here

Together, we can make sure every workplace has role models worth looking up to.