Skip to main content

Neurodiversity is part of the equity equation

October 5, 2022
Jill D.
Jill D.

Fannie Mae

I recently had my heart broken, but not in the way you think. My 19-year-old niece with autism started a position as an intern at a senior center. After her first day, she was excited – talking about the tasks she completed and how well she thought it went. However, that night, the center called and asked that my niece not return – they were dropping her from the internship program.

The reason? She failed to say “excuse me” when walking past the program lead and didn’t have a friendly enough tone when speaking with others. My sister asked if my niece had been given any feedback, guidance, or training, and the answer was no.

To me, this was an abrupt and harsh decision that would be difficult for anyone to hear. But for my niece, it was devastating.

Disability inclusion benefits us all

Here at Fannie Mae, we provide coaching and feedback — a way to share areas for improvement and provide guidance that ultimately benefits the employee and the business. For all of us, including people who are neurodivergent, feedback on areas such as social interaction behaviors are essential to helping improve how we communicate with others.

Neurodiversity, much like cultural, racial, and gender diversity, adds to our collective ability to better understand differing viewpoints and work innovatively to solve problems and make improvements for the benefit of all – including employers.

Visibility and support strengthen our community

Fannie Mae leads the way by celebrating the value of diverse perspectives and taking steps to recruit and support diverse talent within our workforce. We’ve been recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by the Disability Equality Index® for three consecutive years, and continuously work to create an environment where employees with disabilities have an opportunity to thrive and contribute to our mission.

As President of the In-Visible Inclusion Employee Resource Group (I2 ERG), I lead efforts aimed at spreading awareness of the disability and neurodivergent community at Fannie Mae, including making sure resources and accommodations are available and that we hold safe spaces for the community to connect and support each other. Through our Caregiver Circle, Compassion Corner, and other inclusive events, we tackle subjects such as the stigma of mental illness, the financial realities of homeownership for those with disabilities, how to better embrace neurodiversity, and reframing a future after becoming disabled, to name a few. Recently, we launched disability etiquette training for our colleagues to learn more about the disability and neurodivergent community and how to become better allies and co-workers.

I am proud to work for a company that is committed not only to equality, but equity and accessibility, and empowers employees with disabilities to help shape a more inclusive workplace where everyone, maybe even your niece, has a fair chance to succeed.

Are you looking for an inclusive environment to support your success? Join our team.

Learn more about working with us.

Employee Stories  Life at Fannie Mae  View Open Positions 

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Fannie Mae is an equal employment opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, marital or parental status, or any other protected factor. Fannie Mae is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, unless to do so would cause undue hardship to the company. If you need assistance using our online system and/or you need a reasonable accommodation related to the hiring/application process, please complete this form.

RECRUITMENT FRAUD ALERT: Please be aware of recruitment scams that may involve offering fictious job opportunities, requesting personal information, or demanding payments during the recruitment process. All open positions are located on Fannie Mae’s careers site and are based in the United States. Official Fannie Mae email addresses end with @fanniemae.com and Fannie Mae will not use online chats or instant messaging to conduct interviews. Fannie Mae will not ask for a financial commitment from candidates during the recruiting process. Please contact us via e-mail if you are concerned you have been offered employment with Fannie Mae that might be a scam or contacted for a job by an individual who does not represent or work at Fannie Mae.

California residents, under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), Fannie Mae is required to inform any California resident who is our job applicant about the categories of “personal information” we collect about you and the purposes for which we will use this information. To read the full notice, please click here.