How Mastercard Builds a Culture of Belonging in an AI-Powered Workforce

In this article we discuss:

• The Power of Belonging
• Building the Infrastructure of Inclusion
• Bridging the Generational and Technical Divide
• Strategic Agility: Moving to a Skills-Based Organisation
• The Hunter-Gatherer in the High-Tech Office

In the past five years, the modern workplace has become infused with technology: AI has reshaped platforms and processes, remote and hybrid work have redefined where and how we connect, and data – not hunches – has become the force behind decision-making.

In the midst of this technological whirlwind, the human need for the touchstones of community, belonging and connection has never been more important.

When I spoke with Amanda Gervay, People & Capability Lead for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, she consistently returned to this theme.

In a world obsessed with productivity, platforms and performance metrics, Amanda reminded me that while technology and data may power modern organisations, it is culture and belonging that ultimately fuel it.

At Mastercard, that philosophy is formalised in what the organisation calls its 'culture of decency'.

It’s a lived operating model, emphasising empathy, ethical decisions and human-centric leadership, to ensure employees feel valued and supported, enabling everyone to act with integrity and serve the greater good.

Mastercard proactively recruits inclusive leaders like Amanda who have what it calls a high 'Decency Quotient'.

The Power of Belonging

Amanda’s leadership philosophy, with its strong emphasis on belonging, is grounded in lived experience.

“As a non-white, first-generation Australian born from immigrants into Australia in the 70s, that sense of belonging has always been important to me,” she explains.

She still remembers the tension of her dual identity growing up when she, “looked different on the outside, but identified as Australian on the inside.”

To fit in, she made a choice that many migrants and children of migrants will recognise. “I deliberately only spoke English, even though we spoke Chinese at home. I actually said that I couldn’t speak Chinese, because that helped me fit in.”

Today, we might describe that behaviour as 'covering' – the instinct to mask important parts of our true selves to belong. And while the context has changed, the behaviour hasn’t disappeared.

In modern workplaces, people still soften accents, hide caregiving responsibilities, downplay neurodiversity, or suppress aspects of their identity that don’t feel sufficiently 'corporate'.

Amanda believes this is where empathy moves from being a soft skill to a strategic capability.

“Bringing that perspective into the workplace, I definitely have a heightened sense of empathy,” she says. “Not just around obvious diversity like ethnicity or age, but around different communication styles and different ways of thinking.”

It’s an important reminder: people perform best when they don’t have to leave parts of themselves at the door.

Amanda adds, “creating an environment where employees feel safe to bring their whole selves to work not only strengthens trust, but also unlocks the diverse perspectives and authentic contributions that drive high performance.”

Building the Infrastructure of Inclusion

Belonging doesn’t scale through good intentions alone. It requires intentional infrastructure. At Mastercard, this starts with policies that deliberately remove visible and invisible hierarchies.

“We are gender-neutral in our parental benefits, which is quite progressive in the Asia-Pacific context,” Amanda explains. “Both parents are able to take the same amount of parental leave.”

She notes that, in many domestic organisations across the region, benefits still vary by seniority, tenure or job grade.

“We make sure we’re providing fair and equitable programs for all employees,” she says. “It helps reinforce that you’re part of one Mastercard, one team. We’re not seeing these huge variations because I’ve been here longer than you, or I’m a particular gender.”

Transparency plays a critical role too.

“We’re quite open about it, which helps to breed trust,” she says. By being transparent about how decisions are made and benefits are applied, Mastercard strengthens its culture of equity – sending a clear signal that everyone is valued and treated fairly as part of one community.

For Amanda, leadership behaviour matters just as much as formal policy.

“Setting the tone from the top is very, very important,” she says. “Inclusion can’t be a standalone initiative. It has to be how we do business.”

One practical piece of advice she offers to senior leaders is to actively join Employee Resource Groups – not just sponsor them. It’s a way to experience the organisation as a “new employee” again. To understand what inclusion really feels like from the inside.

Bridging the Generational and Technical Divide

“Over 80% of our 15,000 employees in Asia Pacific are millennials and younger,” says Amanda. A generational shift she says is forcing leaders to rethink how they wield authority and build trust.

“Technology has allowed so much fluidity in information and a flattening of hierarchy,” she says. “The way we lead has to change too.”

At Mastercard, this has led to a strong focus on reverse mentoring.

“We encourage more seasoned leaders to get exposure to what the new generation expects,” Amanda explains. “You can’t assume that just because you’ve been in the workplace for 30 years, everything is exactly as it was.”

The same philosophy shapes how Mastercard is approaching AI.

“We use a lot of tools and technology, but we’re confident the human element will never be replaced,” she says.

Rather than positioning AI as a threat, Mastercard frames it as an amplifier.

“When our employee survey asked about AI readiness, we were above benchmark in levels of comfort,” Amanda says. She puts it down to the fact that Mastercard has “spent a lot of time on education and awareness through company-sponsored training.”

Crucially, the organisation sees AI as a capacity-creator.

“It’s a multiplier effect,” says Amanda. “It saves time, creates more capacity and leaves you more time for human connection – picking up the phone or spending time with your team or customers.”

I love this idea. Technology should create space for empathy – not replace it.

Strategic Agility: Moving to a Skills-Based Organisation

The payments industry is evolving at extraordinary speed – and that’s forcing Mastercard to rethink its traditional career models. In this industry, linear, role-based career paths no longer reflect reality.

“We need to flex on capabilities and skills to be agile and fast-paced,” says Amanda. “That’s why Mastercard is becoming a skills-based organisation.”

“We’re going to be developing skills that we don’t even know today,” she continues. “Ten years ago, we wouldn’t have thought some of today’s roles even existed.”

Instead, Mastercard is investing in fluid capability development.

“It’s no longer fixed that you need X, Y and Z to do this job,” Amanda explains. “Given the right toolkit, someone with different skills could also do it.”

For HR leaders, this is where skills strategy and belonging intersect.

When people are hired for potential, not just pedigree – and when development pathways are visible and accessible – it’s not just mobility that increases. Trust grows and community deepens.

The Hunter-Gatherer in the High-Tech Office

As we hurtle towards a more automated future, Amanda believes something very old is reasserting itself.

“I think the human touch is going to be even more amplified,” she says. Noting that post-COVID, the craving for connection has only intensified.

“Fundamentally, as social beings, we are geared to be in groups,” says Amanda. “If we were individuals during the hunter-gatherer era, you just wouldn’t survive.”

In her view, the formats of work may fragment – gig work, hybrid work, distributed teams – but the need for belonging won’t.

“What’s the glue that’s going to hold you?” Amanda asks. “Companies will have to think differently to bring that fabric together.”

She is convinced that 'glue' won’t be the next platform upgrade. It will be culture. Forged by leaders who prioritise connection and belonging.

As technology remakes the workplace, it’s never been more important for HR leaders to make people feel safe, seen and part of something bigger than themselves.