Understanding Dual Masking in Neurodivergent Women of Colour: A Scoping Review Protocol

While masking has been well documented as a coping mechanism to navigate neurotypical environments (Pearson & Rose, 2021; Lai et al., 2016), the compounded process of suppressing neurodivergent traits, along with racial and gender identity expressions remains significantly underexplored. Empirical work linking dual masking to mental health outcomes is also especially sparse. We see that evidence suggests that prolonged masking correlates with burnout, anxiety, suicidal thoughts depression, and identity confusion (Cage & Troxell-Whitman, 2019; Cassidy et al., 2020), yet a review of how these dynamics manifest among neurodivergent women of colour, is lacking. This scoping review will therefore synthesise available evidence on dual masking among neurodivergent women of colour, through an intersectional lens. It will clarify how structural inequities shape masking experiences and outcomes, identify methodological gaps and good practices, and inform culturally sensitive, neuro-affirmative policy and practice. As Franklin et al., (2025) stress, understanding masking as both an act of survival and a privilege unequally distributed to women of colour, is essential to advancing equity within neurodiversity research.