release Media Release October 26, 2022

Back in action: are you ready?

Stories of resilience and new possibilities at the 14th Women in Banking and Finance Forum

How can we re-imagine the way we live our lives post-pandemic? This was the question guiding this year’s Women in Banking and Finance Annual Forum, the fourteenth hosted by Deutsche Bank in Australia.

 There is no better example of being “back in action” than Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball great and four-time Olympic medalist, who made a remarkable comeback to re-join her national team at age 41. After being forced out of the sport due to injury, being able to return to the courts socially 9 years later started an extraordinary journey that saw Jackson regain her fitness and eventually be selected to play for Australia again in the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

 For Jackson, the future is bright for women in sport. “Every moment that I’m out on court is an opportunity I never thought I’d have. Sport has a huge role to play in how the world sees minorities and marginalised groups and I am so proud of the work we have done in women’s basketball globally to drive inclusion and diversity on and off the court.”

 Software company Atlassian is turning traditional working patterns on their head with a new model called ‘TEAM Anywhere’. Their Head of Research, Leisa Reichelt, explained:

 “It’s all about opening up talent. Before the pandemic everyone lived within a commutable distance from the office. If you think about it, this was limiting for our people and it also created a limited talent pool for the organisation. TEAM Anywhere lets people live where they want to live. They can be in the office if they want to. It allows us to welcome talent from all over the country and overseas. It makes hiring much easier.”

 Do people miss the magic in-person learning moments asked moderator, Adam Spencer. “Maybe, but there are lots of way to deal with that,” said Reichelt, giving an example of how their graduates and senior researchers work with an open zoom session to replicate the unstructured interactions of being physically together in the office.

Talking about the changes in the still male-dominated construction industry, Gabrielle Trainor, Chair of Australia’s Construction Industry Culture Task Force, is seeing young people drive change. “Young people have different expectations of what work offers them. As an employer you need to have a really good value proposition to attract talent.”

Will we go back to pre-pandemic ways? “I doubt it” said Trainor. “Covid has changed us in ways we never expected. While it has taken dreadful toll, it has also taught us incredibly valuable lessons about who we are and what is important.”

About WiBF and Deutsche Bank's involvement

Deutsche Bank is proud to be a Diamond Member of Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF).  Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF) is an established not-for-profit organisation that supports the professional development of women in the banking and finance sectors. Deutsche Bank has hosted the WiBF Annual Forum since its launch in 2009 as an important part of our global commitment to diversity and inclusion.