Male business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, have credited much of their career success to neurodivergence. But few women among this cohort of entrepreneurs and innovative business minds have openly done the same. 

There are a few reasons for this notable deficit, as outlined in my newest feature. A small share of women ever reach the CEO rank or receive adequate funding to become successful entrepreneurs—and that number is even smaller for neurodivergent women. Women are also less likely than men to be diagnosed with several disorders that fall under neurodivergence, with many receiving a diagnosis later in life. And lastly, the media presents white men as the face of neurodivergence.

Neurodivergent women experience unique barriers to climbing the career ladder and assuming leadership roles. While the glass ceiling is a painfully familiar concept to any career-driven woman, neurodivergent people experience a concrete ceiling. They’re underrepresented in senior roles and often don’t exhibit skills typically associated with leadership, like strong communication or management abilities. They often must also mask, concealing one’s condition to “fit in,” sensory issues, affecting their ability to thrive at work or take up advancement opportunities. 

Yet many neurodivergent women I spoke with say they’ve excelled in their careers thanks to their unique brain function. And when employers support neurodivergent individuals, they benefit: JPMorgan Chase’s Autism at Work program found that autistic workers are up to 140% more productive than neurotypical employees if matched to the right job.

Bringing more neurodivergent women into senior roles requires that organizations dismantle the rigid perception of what makes for a strong leader. Employers must also be willing to create evaluation and promotion systems that prioritize performance metrics over personality preferences.

When companies expand their definition of strong leadership, neurodivergent talent can stand out, says Charlotte Valeur, founder of the Institute of Neurodiversity. “We need to get to a place where our leadership teams are looking for someone who doesn’t fit in, because that’s diversity.”

Read the full article here.

Paige McGlauflin
Paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion

Reporter's Notebook

The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.

Gen Zers are losing interest in their "dream job," preferring career paths that offer guaranteed stability. 

"The class of 2023 is prioritizing stability in response to the flurry of layoff headlines and talk of a looming recession. Plus, they are graduating from a college experience marked by the instability of a global pandemic." —CNBC

Around the Table

A round-up of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts, and long-reads

- Elon Musk made his first acquisition as the new owner of Twitter, purchasing tech recruiting service Laskie. Bloomberg 

- Small businesses have slowed hiring after driving much of the previous labor gains. Wall Street Journal

- A man on a 15-year sick leave sued IBM for not raising his pay. Insider 

- Employees of a gentlemen’s club in California succeeded in becoming the industry’s first union since the 1990s. New York Times

- Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb proposed legislation giving all city employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Axios

Watercooler

Everything you need to know from Fortune

Cost of IVF. Many employer health care plans cover fertility treatments, but they are still prohibitively expensive. —Tom Murphy

Loneliness is deadly. America's culture of individualism may be partly responsible for the loneliness epidemic that’s taking a toll on public health. —Ted Anthony

Double duty. ChatGPT could be such a boon to productivity that some people might be able to work two jobs simultaneously, theorizes hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones. —Tristan Bove

Take a break. Even the über-successful Bill Gates rues missing out on his personal life because he couldn’t find the right work-life balance. “You are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack.” —Chloe Berger