Two diversity reports from the @BCS on neurodiversity and disability in IT (Nov 2023)

I’m currently attending an interesting Zoom webinar from the BCS about the first report on neurodiversity and disability in IT.

There are two linked reports, summarised below, from the BCS (both November 2023) on neurodiversity and disability in IT, both from the perspective of workers with disabilities and the design and testing of products that need to incorporate needs of a wider demographic.

On our CS4FN blog we have some examples of disability and neurodiversity in computer science including posts about Joanna Lucht (a deaf computer scientist working for NASA), Louis Braille (who developed ‘Braille’ for blind or visually impaired readers, and how that links to data representation) and Temple Grandin (who improved animal welfare by using checklists and considering her ‘end users’ – in this case animals).

The Experience of Neurodiverse and Disabled People in IT 2023
https://www.bcs.org/policy-and-influence/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/the-experience-of-neurodiverse-and-disabled-people-in-it-2023/

• Foreword
• Barriers
• Mitigation
• Positive perspectives
• Tech products: the good, bad and ugly
• When do you share?
• Further reading and references

BCS diversity report 2023: Disability
https://www.bcs.org/policy-and-influence/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/bcs-diversity-report-2023-disability/

• Disability: Key findings
• Disability in context, labour market overview
• Disability and IT employment
• Nature of employment
• Employment characteristics
• Working hours and benefits
• Skills
• Appendix 1: Data notes