By Martin McKay, Founder and Executive Chairman, Everway
Every year in Davos, leaders make powerful statements about inclusion. We hear commitments, pledges, and promises to build workplaces that work for everyone.
But when it comes to neuroinclusion, words are not the hard part. Systems are.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after decades working in education and workplace sectors, it’s this: real commitment only becomes credible when it shows up in budgets, plans, and delivery. Without those signals, neuroinclusion stays symbolic. Well-meaning, but still optional.
READ MORE: NOW Group secures new sponsorship to support neurodivergent youth program
When companies tell me they care about neurodivergent talent, my first question is simple. Where is it funded? How is it being done? And who is accountable?
If there is no answer, then it's unlikely that there is any strategy in place.
Education shows us what works
Education is far from perfect, but it has taught us an important lesson. Change at scale does not happen because people are kind or well-intentioned. It happens because policy and law make it unavoidable.
Legislation has driven access to support, assistive technology, and adjustments for millions of learners. As a result, many young people entering the workforce today have had better support than any generation before them.
Then they graduate. And that support often disappears overnight.
Too many people move from structured systems in education into workplaces where neuroinclusion is treated as discretionary. The message, even if unintentional, is clear. You were supported then. You’re on your own now.
That drop-off is not a personal failure. It’s a huge systemic gap.
The hidden cost of disclosure
In most workplaces, support often depends on personal disclosure. If you ask for help, you might get it. If you do not, you likely won’t.
This places the burden on individuals, not employers.
Around 80 percent of neurodivergent employees do not disclose at work. That is not because they do not need support. It is because disclosure carries risk. Fear of bias, stigma, or being seen as less capable is still very real.
The result is a silent loss of talent, performance, and wellbeing. People struggle in private, underperform in public, and often leave.
We should not design systems that only work for those who feel safe enough to speak up.
Yes, leaders ask about Return on Investment
In large businesses, every change conversation eventually comes back to return on investment. Neuroinclusion is no exception.
As someone who leads a 500+ person company. I understand that reality. Economic arguments matter.
But we also need to be honest about the limits of short-term metrics. The real value of neuroinclusive workplaces shows up over time, in retention, engagement, performance, and culture. These outcomes are harder to measure quickly, but they are no less real. For some solutions, like Everway tools, the productivity ROI is easy to measure, but other policy changes that will influence engagement and retention the return takes longer.
If we only fund what pays back within a quarter, we will always underinvest in our current and future people.
Change works best when systems connect
One of the most effective ways we’ve seen progress is through a geographic, ecosystem approach - aligning education, public sector initiatives, and employers within the same regions.
When assistive technology is available to every student across a state for example, the results are clear. The same tools should then be available when those students enter work in that state. That requires employers, educators, and public bodies to align, rather than operate in isolation.
When support is consistent across transition points, people do not fall through the cracks. Employers benefit too, because they are not reinventing or seeking out solutions that already exist.
This is what systemic change looks like. Less fragmentation. More continuity.
Why visible leadership matters
Leadership behaviour sets the tone long before policies do.
I’m dyslexic. That shapes how I work and how I lead. It also shapes the standards I expect. When my marketing team brings me copy or content to review, clarity and readability matter. This is not as a favour to me, but because they make communication better for everyone. They make our content more accessible to a wider audience.
When I first spoke openly about my dyslexia at work, something very unexpected happened. Thirty people reached out to tell me they were neurodivergent and had never disclosed that information before at work.
That is the quiet power of visibility. It does not force disclosure. It makes safety possible.
There is research suggesting that a significant share of CEOs are dyslexic. Neurodivergence is already present at senior levels. It is just not always public knowledge.
Moving beyond disclosure
If we’re serious about progress, we need to move past the disclosure-led model that dominates most workplaces today.
Large businesses should think about neuroinclusion by default, not by exception. Providing support, tools, adjustments, and flexible ways of working should be available to all employees, without requiring a label or a personal explanation why.
This is not about lowering standards. It’s about removing barriers.
READ MORE: Everway launches hands-on AI learning week to spark innovation
I do not see my dyslexia as a disability to be fixed. It’s a difference. It’s a difference that requires social and organizational change. The real challenge is whether our systems are designed to handle it.
Neuroinclusion shouldn’t be a side project. It’s a test of whether our workplaces are fit for the future. The question is no longer whether we believe in it. The question is whether we are willing to create it?
And that starts with moving from statements to systemic change.
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