Tag Archives: Employment

Innovative Approach on Autism May Prove a Key to Solving Silicon Valley’s Diversity Problem

Over three days in mid-April, leading thinkers from across the technology sector met at SAP Labs in Palo Alto, California. The mood was urgent. The pace frantic. Conversations were ecstatic. At the end of the three-day process, technology executives emerged from their under-the-radar gathering carrying with them the models and metrics that may just prove to be a deciding factor in solving for Silicon Valley’s diversity problem. Silicon Valley’s challenges in building diverse workforces are well-documented. In 2016, Deloitte reported that only 2% of the tech workforce is black, 3% Latino, and 24% female. Difficulties in recruiting and supporting talent from underrepresented backgrounds have been met with attitudes of blissful ignorance by corporate leaders to all-out panic among public relations executives. This is an image of Code 2040 CEO Laura Weidman POwers. She is a young woman with long black hair and … <a href=Continue Reading ››

Building the Plane While We’re Flying It

Note: A version of this piece was originally published at Thinking Person's Guide to Autism as a part of a series of post highlighting autism and accommodations during Autism Acceptance Month. Three books are in the corner of a cubicle. The titles are "Neurotribes," "Rosemary," and "Loud Hands." Beside them, a color communication badge is attached to the cubicle wall. A stim toy and Einstein sticky notes are holding the books in place. The statistics around autism and employment can be incredibly discouraging. Forty-two percent of autistic people in their twenties -- people like me -- are unemployed, even though only 26% of overall young disabled people are out of work. This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, if someone can do well in college or even graduate school, surely they should be able to do well once they join the workforce? Unfortunately, … Continue Reading ››