Business has the power to change systems

When somebody asks you what you do, how do you explain it?

I tell them that I support women who face barriers to employment—not only to find the kind of work that they want to do and need to do—but also to put them on a path towards financial independence.

So it's more than just a job.

I do this through the two startups that I founded, Scriibed and Banksia Academy . Scriibed is a digital outsourcing business. We deliver all sorts of different services to clients from social media content production to transcription services, and we employ women in the business who have faced barriers to employment or still face barriers to employment. Particularly women who have experienced domestic and family violence who struggle to gain employment for many reasons.

So Scriibed is the organisation where you provide services to businesses, backed by these amazing women, and Banksia Academy is where they can build the capability to provide those services. Is that right?

Yes, the academy does two things across two pillars. One is our return to work pillar for women who've been out of the workforce for a while. And the other is our thriving at work pillar, for women in the workplace who have a lived experience of domestic and family violence and are struggling to keep their jobs.

We deliver a whole heap of skills, development and training. Everything from technical digital skills right through to more personal development skills, like parenting. We also have a community hub that the women come into and they can access a whole lot of other learning through our master classes, experience peer connection and interact with other women who've been through similar journeys and may be further on in their journey. So there's a real community of support as well as the learning that they can all participate in.

It must be lifechanging for a woman who's been in that major trauma event to connect with this beautiful supportive network. To not just have that connection to other women through that shared experience, but also a path forward out of a traumatic time towards a brighter future where there will be employment and stability.

I'd love to hear about why you do what you do. Tell us about the fire inside that's driving you to do this important work.

I've always worked in the impact space, whether it has been in not-for-profits, social enterprises or social ventures, and I've also done a lot of work in the impact investing space. So it's a combination of marrying my professional background with my own lived experience.

I experienced a very difficult relationship and separation, and the impact that had on me financially was enormous, and the impact that it had on my work was enormous. So I’ve felt pretty down and desperate at times, but even in the darkest times, I would often reflect to myself, that I've got a loving family, friends, a great network, and I've got work that I can do—because I was self-employed through most of it. But what are the women doing who don't have those things? I realized that most of them are drowning in poverty and all the additional kinds of social and economic challenges that that poses.

As I was going through my own journey, I knew that I wanted to see if I could make a difference in some way—with my work history and what I had experience with—by bringing the lens of someone who knew some of the complexities of what women can go through.

I experienced a very difficult relationship and separation, and the impact that had on me financially was enormous, and the impact that it had on my work was enormous... As I was going through my own journey, I knew that I wanted to see if I could make a difference in some way—with my work history and what I had experience with—by bringing the lens of someone who knew some of the complexities of what women can go through.

Melanie Greblo

In the journey of launching Scriibed two years ago now, what are you most proud of?

I think to have arrived at the point where at the end of last year we won a fairly significant government contract, we've got a small but mighty team, and I feel like the foundations to grow are super strong. It's amazing that in such a short time, all of that's happened. Now we've got a team to support that growth and build on the co-design we did with the original group of women and see how we can scale. Hopefully, we can support thousands of women in the academy and then employ as many as we can in Scriibed and throughout our employer partner network as well.

What you’re doing is incredible, and needed everywhere. Especially with the rising rates of domestic violence, there is an increasing need for women to be supported by this type of network to rebuild their lives. I was reading the quotes on the Banksia Academy website and the impact that it has already created in women's lives. There’s so much to be proud of.

I don't know maybe it's my age, but I just feel like I get that now, and I get the need to pause and celebrate and honour the women by doing that too, because they give us the feedback, and it's lovely to just not quickly move on to the next thing and to take time to take it in.

What's your dream opportunity for making a positive impact in the world?

I dream that all women—regardless of their experiences in life—can feel and be financially independent. I want all women to feel that confidence, acknowledging all of the ripple effects this has for their children as well as generations to come. That would be it in a nutshell.

We've got a long way to go, but we have come a long way haven't we really?

I feel like in the past, so much of the change we've had to make and have made so far has been largely because of people's ignorance and needing to challenge the status quo. But I think attitudes have changed remarkably towards women and girls and there’s also been incredible work that other women pioneers have done to pave the way for women to rise up.

I think going forward there are structural shifts in systems that need to happen. And these shifts will impact women definitely, but those same structures and systems are detrimental to men and boys as well. I think that's the next frontier of work that needs to happen.

I dream that all women—regardless of their experiences in life—can feel and be financially independent.

Melanie Greblo

I love that so much—that everyone benefits from this journey—improvements for women are improvements for everyone in society. It's powerful to hold that view of that better future in front of us to keep doing this work, isn't it?

Governments can only play so much of a role, and that's the exciting thing for me too, that business has the power to change systems and often do it faster than the pace of change that can happen in government.

If there’s enough of a groundswell of businesses doing things differently—particularly if they have impact as their core focus as well as profit—it’s super exciting that we can change a lot in society through that.

Business has the power to change systems and often do it faster than the pace of change that can happen in government.

Melanie Greblo

What needs to change today to be able to make this dream come true tomorrow?

Probably the biggest lever that we all have right now to make the dream come true is for men and women to work together, for everyone to see this goal, this pursuit, is good for everyone.

If we can shift the status quo of the patriarchal systems that we've been all born into, we can lift women up, but it doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. It doesn't mean when you allow women to rise that men are going to fall. I think when we work together we can see that when we empower women to rise, there's probably a much healthier, happy future for men in that scenario as well.

I reckon that's one of the keys to achieving that vision and pursuit. Working together, coming together, uniting… we have to centre peace and our shared humanity more than our differences.

Amazing Mel. Thank you so much.

Learn more about our partnership with Scriibed and Banksia Academy here.