October marks Dyslexia Awareness Month, and whilst many conversations centre on childhood reading challenges, there’s a critical workplace story that deserves attention: organisations are systematically filtering out some of their most valuable potential talent before they even get through the door.
The Scale of What We’re Missing
The numbers are staggering. Globally, dyslexia affects approximately 10-15% of the population (1) – that’s roughly 780 million to 1.17 billion people worldwide. Yet unemployment rates can be as high as 4x that of the non-dyslexic population (2).
Here’s where it gets interesting >>> whilst dyslexic individuals face significantly higher unemployment, they’re simultaneously over-represented in entrepreneurship. Studies suggest that 35% of US entrepreneurs identify as dyslexic, compared to 15% of the general population.(3) In the UK, that figure reaches 40% amongst business founders.(4)
This isn’t coincidence. It’s consequence.
The Real Story: Gatekeeping Brilliance
Traditional recruitment processes aren’t neutral. They’re often designed to favour one cognitive style whilst (maybe unintentionally) penalising others.
Consider this: a CV with spelling errors might belong to someone who:
- Excels at spatial reasoning and can visualise complex systems others can’t
- Demonstrates exceptional problem-solving through lateral thinking
- Shows remarkable resilience developed through years of navigating a world not built for their brain
- Possesses strong verbal communication skills that never make it past the written application stage
The written application, the timed assessment, the requirement to process dense text quickly – these are not measuring capability, they’re measuring compatibility with arbitrary format preferences.
What the Data Really Tells Us
Research from Made By Dyslexia reveals that 84% of dyslexic individuals report having valuable skills that employers seek(5), Yet 52% of dyslexic individuals experienced discrimination during job interviews or selection processes, which they felt could hinder their ability to get hired(6). Meanwhile, studies consistently show dyslexic individuals often excel in:
- Creative problem-solving: 84% demonstrate above-average creative thinking
- Big-picture thinking: Enhanced ability to see connections others miss
- Spatial reasoning: Superior skills in visualising three-dimensional concepts
- Narrative reasoning: Exceptional ability to understand complex scenarios through storytelling
The Neuroinclusive Shift
The question isn’t “How do we help dyslexic people fit into our systems?” It’s “Why are our systems so unnecessarily narrow?”
Practical neuroinclusion means:
- Offering multiple application formats: Video applications, portfolio submissions, or structured conversations alongside traditional CVs
- Rethinking assessments: Testing for job-relevant skills rather than arbitrary processing speed
- Providing adjustment information upfront: Normalising support rather than making it a barrier-laden request
- Using clear, accessible language: In job descriptions, throughout recruitment, and in workplace communication
This isn’t about lowering standards. It’s about measuring what actually matters.
The Business Case Is Clear
Companies like EY, which has actively recruited dyslexic talent for their cybersecurity teams, report these employees bring exceptional pattern recognition and lateral thinking capabilities. GCHQ specifically seeks out dyslexic candidates for similar reasons (7).
The economic argument is straightforward: you’re either building systems that can access the full spectrum of human capability, or you’re voluntarily restricting your talent pool to those who happen to process information in one particular way.
Moving Forward
This Dyslexia Awareness Month, the conversation needs to evolve beyond awareness into action. It’s not enough to acknowledge dyslexia exists. We need to fundamentally question why we’ve built workplace systems that treat one cognitive style as “standard” and everything else as requiring “accommodation”.
The dyslexic mind isn’t broken. But many of our recruitment and workplace systems certainly are.
At auticon, we’ve seen firsthand what happens when you remove unnecessary barriers and focus on capability: you access extraordinary talent that traditional approaches miss entirely. The same principle applies to dyslexia and across the neurodivergent spectrum.
The organisations thriving in the next decade won’t be those that grudgingly accommodate different minds. They’ll be those that actively sought them out.
About auticon: We’re leaders in neuroinclusion, specialising in harnessing neurodivergent talent to deliver exceptional outcomes. We don’t just talk about inclusion—we’ve built our entire model around the principle that different minds bring different value.
Sources:
(1) https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics/
(3) https://www.amanet.org/articles/new-research-reveals-many-entrepreneurs-are-dyslexic
(5) https://www.madebydyslexia.org/wp-content/uploads/Employ-Dyslexia-Guide.pdf
