ABSTRACT
Autism affects about 1 per cent of the world's population, and that figure includes many women, of course. But women with autism have historically been under-diagnosed. A lack of diagnosis can have a profound effect on autistic women's mental health and stack the odds against them when it comes to employment. And although those with diagnoses have better access to the support services which exist, there is little available for the undiagnosed to obtain and maintain long-term employment. The Autism in Pink project, funded under the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme to carry out research into autism in women, claims that autistic females have greater difficulties in gaining employment due to: personal factors, social factors, discrepancy between expectations based on their own cognitive and educational achievements and access to quality employment. Auticon, the multinational social enterprise based in the UK, Germany and France, is looking to change this by going on a recruitment drive for autistic women.
