Inclusion is in the details

Author: Gonzalo Gonzales

UX Research Coordinator, Digital Product, Macmillan Education

This Global Accessibility Awareness Day, UX Researcher and Generation Valuable mentee Gonzalo Gonzales shares his experience of the Valuable 500 initiative and the importance of small details when it comes to inclusion.

In December 2025, 500 organisations came together in Tokyo for the world’s first accountability summit on disability inclusion in business: SYNC25. As a mentee in Springer Nature’s Generation Valuable programme, I attended to share experiences with peers from across the Valuable 500: a global partnership that brings together companies to support disability inclusion. Generation Valuable is its reciprocal mentoring programme, pairing senior executives with disabled leaders.

Safety makes disclosure possible

My disclosure came a few months into my journey at Springer Nature. I had only received my diagnosis not long before joining, so I was still learning how to talk about it. I was also learning how to accept myself with this new part of me. The only reason I could be open that early was that the environment felt safe, and my manager was supportive.

Disability inclusion, by design

At the event, leaders spoke about disability inclusion as a strategy, by design, and about inclusion as something that shapes innovation and builds engagement. I went to SYNC25 to learn from different disabled and neurodivergent perspectives and share my experience as a neurodivergent mentee. I spoke about how my mentor at SN, Marc Spenlé, COO, helped me shape how I try to lead by putting authenticity at the centre of our relationship.

For me, mentorship is not magic. It is built on trust, listening, and clear objectives. It is also built around safety, which matters a lot to me as an autistic person.

From mentee to microphone

The day before I spoke at SYNC25, I barely enjoyed the beauty of Tokyo. I was too nervous about speaking in front of strangers on a very large, unfamiliar stage. My mentor, Marc, gave me three reminders that shaped my entire participation:

Be yourself.
Treat it as a learning experience.
Have fun, enjoy what you’re doing.

This advice fit our mentorship perfectly. Our relationship revolves around authenticity, mutual learning, and enjoying what we were experiencing. So, I used it. I scrawled my quite structured notes into a little notepad and got to the stage.

I shared part of my life story as a neurodivergent immigrant. For a long time, I assumed I felt “different” mainly because of cultural differences, but not completely; it was more undiagnosed autism and ADHD.

I also talked about how “be yourself” made me react defensively the first time I heard it during mentoring, as if it were easy. In my life, being myself often came with risk. I could be judged or excluded because of my social differences. So, like many neurodivergent people, I tend to mask to protect myself.

I still mask sometimes. I understand the cost, and I know not everyone understands neurodiversity. In contrast, I have started speaking up more, initiating conversations, and showing up as a whole person. I think it is easier to build safety when you build trust from the start.

Inclusion shows up in the small things

Networking is not fun for me. Being AuDHD (autism + ADHD), I crave connection, but I process social cues differently and I need more time to respond. Fast-paced situations can feel overwhelming.

But something small happened after my talk. People started approaching me. They shared personal stories, dinner, and their big projects for the future. I had never talked so casually with a CEO of a global firm before. I expected distance and formality. Instead, it was just a very human conversation.

He seemed genuinely moved by what I said, partly because he was the uncle of a young autistic child. He was kind, authentic, and open. That moment felt like a reflection of what I had just spoken about, and it mirrored the same safety, kindness, and respect I have been shown by my manager and my mentor.

Bringing it back to my day-to-day work

My day-to-day role is UX research in an educational digital product. I am not an accessibility specialist, and I am not an inclusion specialist. What I do understand much better now is how inclusion shows up in everyday work.

It shows up in who gets invited into conversations, whose perspectives carry more weight, and whether barriers are brushed aside as exceptions or treated as a sign that the way we do research is unintentionally excluding people.   

What I asked leaders to do

I closed my participation at SYNC25 by urging leaders not to be afraid to invest in disabled and neurodivergent talent. Disability is not a deficit. My disability has helped me shape how I lead in certain ways, but it is not my defining factor. I am a whole person. That is why I have recently taken on a mentoring role focused on neuroinclusion, to support leaders who want to reflect on how their interactions can include or exclude neurodivergent colleagues.

Treating people with respect, making accommodations ordinary tools for performance, and not excluding people unintentionally are the details that decide whether people feel safe enough to contribute fully.

One line I heard stayed with me: “Disclosure happens only when respect is guaranteed.” I have felt that respect from my manager and from so many of my colleagues at Springer Nature. It has shaped what I believe inclusion can look like, especially through mentorship, safety, and the details that help people thrive.