The HR Paradox That's Killing Your Inclusion Efforts (and how to fix it)

Satomi Beyond Bias
Sep 23
2 min read

October is Neurodiversity Celebration and Mental Health Awareness Month.

For many, it’s a time to reflect on inclusion—not as a policy, but as a lived, daily practice. Yet, in most organisations, the very teams tasked with driving inclusion—HR—are the first to burn out.

The Hidden Weight HR Carries

HR professionals are expected to:

Navigate compliance and constant change.
Carry the emotional weight of employee care.
Lead every new inclusion initiative that lands on the company’s desk.

Behind closed doors, here’s what I hear from HR leaders:

These quiet questions quietly erode every inclusion effort.

If you’re feeling this, you’re not alone.

I’ve Been There—And I Still Am

After 15+ years in HR, I’ve sat on both sides of the table. As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent professional, I spent years masking my needs—overcompensating, striving to fit into systems that weren’t built for brains like mine. In Japan, standing out was discouraged. “Normal” meant blending in, not thriving.

The reality:

Over 50% of neurodivergent people face mental health challenges.
Many, like me, are misdiagnosed with depression or anxiety before discovering their true neurotype.
HR professionals often create inclusion policies while quietly burning out.

The Call for Real Change

The Jakarta Declaration on Disability Inclusion for Asia-Pacific is raising the bar. It urges organisations to move beyond policies—to embed meaningful inclusion, accessibility, and equity at every level.

For HR, this isn’t just another box to tick. It’s preparation for what regulators and investors are already demanding.

Here’s the catch:

Most DEI and neurodiversity programmes in Asia-Pacific still copy Western templates. The focus is often on assistive technology, not on the cultural context or the everyday HR realities that make or break inclusion.