40% of future business leaders intend to hide core aspects of their identity when they enter the workforce, according to a new study.
The research, conducted by Professor Géraldine Galindo and Vedika Lal at the ESCP Leadership and Inclusive Management Institute, uncovered considerable anxiety amongst workforce entrants about revealing parts of their identity to future employers and colleagues.
Masking and disclosure anxiety
Researchers interviewed 576 undergraduate and postgraduate students at ESCP’s London, Paris, Madrid and Turin campuses. 78% of the respondents were European (67% French or Italian) with an average age of 21.78 years.
Students were asked questions about five aspects of their identity: gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, neurodivergence and social class. The majority identified with at least one of these five, with nearly a quarter (24.3%) confirming that they were neurodivergent.
Nearly 40% of participants revealed they do not plan to reveal their identity at any stage of the employment process, with 24.3% waiting until after they are securely hired. Only a small minority (6.4%) would disclose during a face-to-face interview.
Qualitative evidence from the study showed that most students were confident that they would be well treated at work. But some worried that they would be mistreated based on their neurodiversity or gender identity.
These students reported feeling overwhelmed by the weight of managing mental health, neurodiversity, and the anxiety of disclosure at work. They reported constant pressure to hide mental health struggles or neurodivergent traits, particularly when awaiting formal diagnosis or to avoid stigma.
“For years the prevailing narrative has been to “bring your whole self to work”, but for young people starting out in the workplace, many are masking or keeping quiet to avoid career penalties,” says Géraldine Galindo, Professor and Director of the ESCP Leadership and Inclusive Management Institute, who co-authored the research. “Disclosing an invisible identity in the current climate is tied to heightened emotional strain and hyper-vigilance rather than relief.”
Impact of the findings for employers
The researchers also found that while workforce entrants say they “highly value” a company’s corporate DEI policies, over 76% do not actually check a company’s DEI stance before applying. This suggests that while young talent deeply cares about inclusion, they do not trust official HR brochures or policy documents.
“Our findings have profound implications for employers,” adds Vedika Lal, co-author of the research. “Employers need to ditch all-or-nothing corporate disclosure mechanisms and generic corporate DEI messaging and replace performative statements with measurable action such as clear internal burnout policies. It’s essential that they train direct line managers and/or colleagues to build day-to-day psychological safety and seamlessly execute accommodations on the floor.”
The wider context
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 10-20% of the global population is estimated to be neurodivergent. Globally, between 30-40% of neurodivergent adults are unemployed – rising to 85% in the US.
Meanwhile, WEF data shows that 28% of LGBTQI+ workers believe workplace discrimination has worsened over the past five years. 41% have faced discrimination at work, and 29% have left their job because they felt uncomfortable.