Banking vs Tech: the importance of diversity in technology

In the final of a three-part series on banking and technology, Microsoft Australia MD Pip Marlow and ANZ MD Retail Distribution Australia Catriona Noble said the companies willing to walk a mile in customer shoes are the ones which come out on top.

" Diversity is at the core of everything."
Pip Marlow, Microsoft Australia MD

“It’s a lot easier to [appeal to more customers] when you’ve got a diverse group that have had a lot of those diverse experiences,” Noble said on video.  “It’s then very intuitive.”

Marlow said it is vital for businesses to mirror the market they serve, saying diversity is “…at the core of everything.”

Using the example of early airbags failing for women and children because they were designed exclusively by men, Marlow said staff with different backgrounds offer valuable different thinking styles.

“Because they didn’t have diversity in the design… the product didn’t work for everyone,” she said.

“The biggest way to ensure you don’t miss out is to have people like your customers in your teams and really bringing that outside voice in.”

Renee Whitford is a contributing editor at BlueNotes