From
Mary Ellen Smith, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Operations,
Microsoft. Pictured is a group from
Specialisterne Connecticut.
In honor of World Autism Awareness Day, April 2, I had the privilege
to attend and speak at an event held at the United Nations in New York
City, where the theme was “Autism, The Employment Advantage.”
This theme resonates with me on two levels.
First, as a parent. I am the proud mom of Shawn, now 19, diagnosed
with autism when he was four years old. Secondly, as a proud executive
at Microsoft. A company that believes strongly in diversity.
At Microsoft, we believe that diversity enriches our performance, our
products and services, the communities where we live and work, and the
lives of our employees. We provide an inclusive environment where
everyone can do their best work and have been investing in these
programs for many years. In fact, this was one of the things that
attracted me to Microsoft.
We have been committed to enabling people with disabilities to be
successful for a long time. We also work with Supported Employment and
vendor partners to hire people for roles in event services,
transportation, and food services. In these roles, we see only 1 percent
attrition level. Today, people can consider a wide range of
opportunities in supported employment with our vendor partners at
Microsoft.
This week, we announced another exciting effort, a new pilot program with Specialisterne,
focused on hiring people with autism for full-time, Redmond-based
Microsoft positions. It’s early days but we’re excited to get going and
we know we’ll learn a lot along the way. Why are we so passionate about
this space?
It’s simple, Microsoft is stronger when we expand opportunity and we
have a diverse workforce that represents our customers. People with
autism bring strengths that we need at Microsoft, each individual is
different, some have amazing ability to retain information, think at a
level of detail and depth or excel in math or code. It’s a talent pool
that we want to continue to bring to Microsoft!
This represents only one of the ways we are evolving our approach to
increase the diversity of Microsoft’s workforce. We believe there is a
lot of untapped potential in the marketplace and we are encouraged by
the strong level of readiness from the vendors who cater to this
segment.
Our effort goes beyond autism. We are passionate about hiring
individuals of all disabilities and we believe with them, we can create,
support, and build great products and services. Our customers are
diverse and we need to be as well.
At Microsoft, we encourage all employees to realize their full
potential. This belief and the inspiration I get from my son is what
drives me personally and why I was honored to speak.
The day my son was diagnosed I distinctly remember the final words of
two doctors I overheard as my husband and I left the medical center, “I
think they understand.”
I also remember how we walked to the car, pulled onto the road, drove
15 miles to our home, and entered the house. All in silence. We did not
know what to say.
But we do now. What we learned over the last 15 years was to find our
voice. To model what a unique advantage a young man like my son Shawn
can offer. To think of where he is now, a college freshman and part-time
employee, and where he has the potential to go, makes my husband and I
so proud.
I am also proud of how our society and our workplace is moving
forward with the commitment to help support people with autism and
disabilities in general.
Candidates interested in our pilot program can email resumes to msautism@microsoft.com. Find out more about Microsoft’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
