Neurodiversity Celebrated at the MOD

The MOD participated in the recent Neurodiversity Celebration Week. We believe that our workforce should reflect the society around us; we need to make sure that employment opportunities, career progression and development opportunities, as well as conducive working conditions are there for all - diversity & inclusion (D&I) matters and everyone has a part to play. ​​​​​​

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term for a spectrum of cognitive processing conditions. Those conditions can be: -

• Clinical (such as Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD and others),
• Acquired (for example through brain injury)
• Temporary such as from the impact of medication / long term illnesses.

There has been a great deal of focus on the causes and challenges, but often the positives are ignored. There are higher occurrences of Dyslexia amongst entrepreneurs and higher occurrences of autism in technology specialists.  Organisations that embrace neurodiversity are said to have a greater competitive advantage.

There is now more and more evidence of neurodiverse organisations making a difference in being able to find creative solutions to challenges we face. It is important for us, at the MOD, to embrace this diversity of thought. It is part of our duty to provide the right working conditions and reasonable adjustments and support individuals in the workplace. Now, that can be a challenge in organisations like ours due to the size and complexity, however there is a growing interest and new groups are being formed to support neurodiverse people across the MOD.

The MOD Neuro Inclusivity Network run events including talks from our people sharing how they use their neurodivergent strengths to achieve goals and the importance of creating inclusive environments enabling diverse teams to succeed. We want all our people to be champions for a neurodiverse organisation.

A Career in the Civil Service is an Opportunity to Make a Difference.