Why Are We Talking About Intersectionality and Neurodiversity, and Why Should Anyone Care?

Hi, my name is Kim To, I’m 31 years old, and I was diagnosed with ADHD 5 years ago (wow, time flies). I’m now a certified ADHD coach and have been focusing on supporting adults with late ADHD diagnoses. You can read more about me via my website: www.ownyourflair.com

The world of HR and DE&I needs to stop seeing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as isolated efforts and start treating them as interconnected.

If organisations want these initiatives to actually work, they need to be approached through an intersectional lens.

Neurodiversity presents a powerful opportunity here. It remains one of the least prioritised areas within DE&I, yet it has the potential to unlock significant innovation and bring together many other diversity initiatives. Neurodiversity cannot be addressed in isolation. It forces organisations to consider gender, race, class, disability, and culture simultaneously. Without that broader view, efforts remain surface-level.

Employee Led Initiatives Are Important but Not Enough

Many companies have made progress through employee-led initiatives. Women’s networks, LGBTQ+ groups, and BIPOC communities provide much-needed spaces where marginalised employees can feel seen, supported, and connected. This matters because work is where most of us spend the majority of our lives, and minorities are statistically more likely to feel out of place at work.

If organisations want to lead on diversity, they must support initiatives that allow people to be heard. Otherwise, they risk building workplaces that cater to a narrow demographic, often defined by background, class, or behaviour. That lack of diversity has real consequences. Research consistently shows that homogenous leadership teams increase the risk of groupthink and reduce innovation.

Where Intersectionality Gets Lost

DE&I initiatives usually sit within fixed budgets. Companies often prioritise visible programmes such as Women in Tech or allocate disproportionate funding and sponsorship to certain employee resource groups.

What is rarely examined is how intersectionality shapes who benefits most from these investments and who is left behind. When initiatives are designed in silos, they often fail to support people whose identities overlap in complex ways.

How Intersectionality Magnifies Oppression

Intersectionality allows us to see how different layers of identity interact and intensify barriers. Intersectionality is understanding that neurodiversity does not exist in a vacuum, it interests with race, gender, clas, culture and power and these can magnify oppression. And when you feel oppressed, psychologically unsafe at work, it can lead to exhaushion, burnt out and pushed out of the workplace. This obviously has huge downstream negative impact on the individual, I've seen many burnt out neurodivergent people in my coaching practice).

For example, being Asian often comes with unspoken expectations around behaviour, compliance, and quiet competence. For someone with ADHD, those expectations can collide painfully with traits such as impulsivity, curiosity, or expressive communication.

This was my own experience growing up. At 10 years old, I told my mother I wanted to be a fashion designer and cut up a dress in my wardrobe to make a two-piece outfit (crop top and skirt). I was told off for acting impulsively. The shame attached to that moment never really left me.

That shame followed me into corporate life. I remember navigating professional spaces feeling terrified and lacking the confidence to share ideas or pursue new ones. I felt trapped in the identity of the quiet Asian woman, reinforced by my mother’s advice not to stand out. The irony was that I was often one of the only Asian women in the room.

When I eventually found the courage to speak my mind in meetings, I was told I came across as abrasive. I was confused. I believed being direct signalled confidence. But confidence did not seem to be what was expected from someone like me. That feedback came from a male manager, and what I learned was clear. The workplace wanted a palatable version of Asian obedience, agreeable and non disruptive.

I see the same patterns amplified in clients who hold multiple marginalised identities. Women who are LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent often mask constantly to survive. Masking means suppressing natural behaviours to fit narrow norms. The psychological and emotional cost of this is enormous.

The Cost of Ignoring This at the Top

Many of our brightest people are being lost within systems that fail to recognise intersectional oppression. Progress at senior levels remains slow. Women currently hold around ten percent of CEO roles in Fortune 500 companies, with similar figures in the UK. These numbers drop further when race, disability, and neurodiversity are considered together.

This is not a pipeline problem. It is a systems problem.

Why This Matters Even More in a World of AI

As AI reshapes work, human capability becomes more important, not less. Creativity, pattern recognition, empathy, and complex problem solving are areas where humans continue to outperform machines.

That means people strategy is no longer a soft issue. It is a competitive one.

Workplaces that want to thrive must be psychologically safe for diverse thinkers. Neurodivergent people have historically been pushed out of environments designed around neurotypical norms. Yet these are the very people who often excel at innovation, systems thinking, and creative disruption.

The organisations willing to adapt will gain a significant advantage.

The Hidden Talent Drain

Through my coaching practice, I see many women who are late diagnosed with ADHD or autism being pushed out of organisations. This happens through burnout, increased scrutiny, lack of support, and environments that feel psychologically unsafe.

The cost is significant. Companies lose experienced talent, pay settlements, and then spend again to recruit and train replacements. Disability discrimination claims are one of the fastest growing categories within employment tribunals, particularly in the UK.

Ignoring neurodiversity is no longer just an ethical issue. It is a legal and financial risk.

From Silos to Systems

Intersectionality and neurodiversity invite us to rethink diversity not as separate initiatives, but as a web of interconnected factors. When organisations fail to see this, oppression is magnified, talent is pushed out, and competitiveness suffers.

In a future shaped by AI, adaptability and human insight will define success. Companies that continue to approach DE&I in silos will fall behind.

So Where Do We Start?

We start by recognising that effective DE&I is not siloed. It must be approached strategically through an intersectional lens. If organisations want real impact and better returns on investment, this is the only approach that makes sense.

Leaders need to care about this, even when they do not personally reflect diversity themselves. Forward-thinking leaders will understand that inclusive systems benefit everyone.

We also need strong political and legal frameworks that protect disabled and neurodivergent people, continuing the work of legislation such as the Equality Act 2010.

Finally, we need more education and practical resources.

That is why I created a self-taught online course titled “Coaching neurodiverse clients: building confidence and competence” for people (mentors, coaches, HR, managers) in coaching or mentoring roles who want to build the confidence, tools, and frameworks to support neurodivergent clients through an intersectional lens. The course is currently under review for CPD certification and is designed to be completed in six hours at your own pace, with lifetime access.

For a limited time, I am offering a discounted rate of £200 instead of £300. Only ten discounted places are available.

Course access Coupon code: discount2026

From a personal perspective, I have lived much of my life feeling a quiet sense of regret that the world I was born into makes it so difficult to navigate workplaces without psychological safety. As an Asian woman with neurodiversity, I know I have so much to offer. Yet too often, I find myself expending more energy on masking and self-monitoring than on creating, leading, or innovating.

Still, I hold hope. Hope we are moving towards workplaces that are more inclusive and more curious about people who think differently. That hope is why I continue to write, to speak, and to advocate in intersectionality and neurodiversity. Because I believe a better system is possible, and because no one should have to exhaust themselves just to belong.