Advancing Economic Empowerment for Autistic Women

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Yolanda Gibb and I are researching  a book we have been commissioned to write, the working title of which  is Gender, Autism and Entrepreneurship. One of the key insights generated during our work with the Scottish Women’s Autism Network (SWAN) and Scottish Autism over the past eighteen months, is that non-autistic people or Neuro-typicals (NT’s) and their organisations tend to have a very limited understanding of the needs of autistic women wishing to become economically empowered. If you, are working with autistic women or girls in the area of social and economic empowerment, and/or if you know an autistic woman who would like to share their experiences of employment or self-employment, we’d love to hear from you and also features examples of good practices  from around the world.

Many thanks
Dinah Bennett – 

Advancing Economic Empowerment for Autistic Women

One of the key insights generated during our work with the Scottish Women’s Autism Network (SWAN) and Scottish Autism over the past eighteen months, is that non-autistic people or Neuro-typicals (NT’s) and their organisations tend to have a very limited understanding of the needs of autistic women wishing to become economically empowered. This prompted us to develop something that would fill this gap, and we are delighted to announce that we have been commissioned to  write a book, the Working Title of which is currently Gender, Autism and Entrepreneurship. We will be working in partnership with Dr. Catriona Stewart,  Founder of SWAN. If you, whether as an individual or as a representative of your organisation, are working with autistic women or girls in the area of social and economic empowerment, we’d love to hear from you

Brief summary of the Book:

The book addresses how developing enterprising skills and capabilities can socially and economically empower autistic women and highlights the implications for policy makers and other stakeholders that have a role in creating a suitable environment, as well as setting an agenda for future research.

The book draws together important strands related to gender, autism and entrepreneurship and seeks to be the catalyst for a new dialogue in response to the convergence of a number of relevant trends. The first is the increasing number of women who are diagnosed as autistic, some of them very late in life. Second, the dramatic changes in the world of work are giving rise to more flexible career configurations and to a greater prevalence of self-employment. The third is the increasing understanding that entrepreneurship and self-employment are potential options that can enable autistic women to increase their confidence, competence and resilience, thereby contributing to the development of more satisfying careers and lives.

The book adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject in an attempt to engage not only autistic women but also a wide range of stakeholders, including practitioners, educators, carers, academics and policy makers in the important debate about how to create an appropriate environment in which autistic women can develop and apply enterprising skills and attitudes to increase their social and economic empowerment. The volume will include a range of contributors from these different stakeholder groups, internationally, and will tackle the issue in a systemic fashion, combining theory, practice and policy. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

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