04-13-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

Dyslexia doesn’t disqualify leaders—it creates them

Increasingly, we’re realizing that people’s brains work differently.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

Last month in the Oval Office, President Trump stated that people with learning disabilities should not be president, specifically calling out California Governor Gavin Newsom’s dyslexia. This wasn’t just misleading—it was harmful. Hearing the person in the highest office in the U.S. claim that dyslexia disqualifies someone from leadership sends a damaging message to the next generation.

One in five people have a learning and thinking difference like dyslexia and ADHD, and they battle stigma and misconceptions every day. Even so, hearing an accomplished dyslexic leader called “dumb” and a “low-IQ person” in front of the entire world can be deeply damaging.

Dyslexia isn’t new or rare. It’s a difference that impacts roughly 20% of the population. It also accounts for 80-90% of all learning disabilities. It affects reading and spelling, not intellectual ability or leadership. In fact, according to a report from Made By Dyslexia, at least one in three entrepreneurs are dyslexic. So when we suggest excluding dyslexic people from leadership, we would be excluding a massive share of talent. And........

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