Microsoft Starts New Pilot Program

Just after World Autism Awareness Day last Thursday, on Monday Microsoft announced that the company would be recruiting workers with autism through a new pilot program.

In collaboration with a company called Specialisterne, who helps create and finds jobs for autistic workers, Microsoft is hoping to fill full-time positions at the headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Recently Microsoft has been ranked among being the top most diverse companies, especially in the tech industry. Microsoft has been “committed to enabling people with disabilities to be successful for a long time”, according to Mary Ellen Smith, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of operations. In a blog post on the company’s website, Smith mentioned that her own son was diagnosed with autism when he was only 4 years old.

“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,” she said. “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!”

Although there was no mention of how many or what specific positions must be filled, it seems they are applicable immediately. The blog post also mentioned expanding positions to all people with disabilities.

Candidates interested in Microsoft's pilot program can email resumes to msautism@microsoft.com.