Sex differences in employment and supports for adults with autism spectrum disorder.
Julie Lounds Taylor, Leann Smith DaWalt, Alison R Marvin and 2 others
PMID 30729799WHAT IT FOUND
Women with autism were equally likely as men to be employed or receive benefits, but reported less desire to work more hours and received significantly less financial and service support when they did qualify.
Men were more likely to cite inability to find work; women more often chose not to work.
Key findings
01Employment rates were similar between sexes, but women were half as likely as men to report wanting to work more hours.
02While both sexes were equally likely to receive family financial support or government benefits, women received significantly less support and fewer benefits than men once they entered those systems.
03Among unemployed adults, women were more likely than men to state they did not wish to work, whereas men were more likely to cite an inability to find work.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was self-selected from an online registry, which may over-represent individuals with higher functioning and internet access. Participants were predominantly white and non-Hispanic, limiting generalizability across racial and ethnic groups. ASD diagnoses were self-reported or based on registry criteria rather than gold-standard clinical evaluation. The survey was not originally designed to test sex differences, and women were not over-recruited to balance the sample. Data on detailed cognitive or adaptive functioning levels were not collected, so differences in support needs between sexes cannot be fully explained.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The Interactive Autism Network is a registry managed by Johns Hopkins Medicine. No commercial conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the finding that women are more likely to 'choose not to work' as evidence that they lack desire for employment or have lower vocational needs. This self-reported withdrawal may reflect workplace barriers, discrimination, or lack of accommodations that make employment unappealing or unsustainable, rather than a true preference for unemployment.