Infinity/Our impact
Our impact
Founded in February 2023, Infinity, as the Government of Canada's network for neurodivergent employees, has worked to foster connections between neurodivergent employees, provide them with the tools and resources to self-advocate in the workplace, and effectively navigate their careers in the federal public service. Infinity has accomplished a lot in our short time, and we are proud to have grown into the largest public sector neurodiversity network in the G7.
Creating community
Infinity has offered many neurodivergent employees a sense of community and belonging within the federal public service. Through dedicated communities on platforms like GCcollab, GCxchange, and Discord, hundreds of members can access a space to exchange ideas, seek peer support, and connect with colleagues from across Canada. Whether it is virtual game night or in-person networking mixers, Infinity organizes events throughout the year for members to make new friends and find others with similar experiences to their own.
Celebrating our neurodiverse workforce
Infinity was instrumental in putting together Canada's first-ever Public Service Neurodiversity Week (PSNW), held during the third week of October 2024, with the goals of celebrating the talents and contributions of neurodivergent employees to Canada's federal public service, and raising awareness about how we can all work to create workplaces where neurodivergent employees can succeed. This week involved a hybrid kick-off event, virtual information sessions on neurodiversity, virtual panel discussions, and in-person networking mixer held in Ottawa. The first celebration of PSNW was an enormous success, attracting over 3,400 registrants from across Canada and abroad.
Rethinking how we work
Infinity's advocacy and collaboration with various federal institutions is working to reshape how we manage people in a evolving workforce. With the growing visibility of neurodivergence in Canada's workforce and population at large, Infinity has offered input and advice to federal institutions to improve government policies, programs, and services through a neurodiversity lens. This includes improved approaches to conducting interviews and evaluations when hiring candidates, raising awareness about the workplace accommodation needs of neurodivergent employees, and working to improve the quality of data captured about neurodivergent employees.
Collaborating across Canada and globally
As a leading neurodiversity network globally, Infinity has developed working relationships with organizations across Canada and around the world. Infinity has engaged with unions and bargaining agents to discuss how neurodivergent employees can be better supported from the union perspective. It has also engaged with other neurodiversity networks at the provincial level, such as the Neurodiverse Employees' Resource Discussion (NERD) group in the Ontario Public Service. Infinity also has working relationships with other neurodiversity networks in the national governments of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
