As Australia’s tech industry faces a mounting skills shortage, a pioneering social enterprise is turning an overlooked and underestimated group into the next generation of digital talent: survivors of domestic violence.
Humans of Purpose, founded by Melanie Greblo in 2021, is tackling two complex national problems at once, gendered violence and the tech talent gap, through an innovative reskilling model that’s already transformed the lives of more than 250 women.
Chatting with B&T ahead of B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media, Greblo explained how the organisation if reframing both social and economic challenges by turning overlooked potential into digital capability.
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“We really identify that there’s a huge technology skills gap and shortage that’s growing,” Greblo said. “And we’ve identified a cohort in the community that could readily be upskilled and trained to fill that gap, women who have experienced domestic and family violence”.
With flexible, remote-ready jobs increasingly available across digital marketing, data analytics, social media and AI, the Humans of Purpose Academy offers a six-month virtual training program tailored to women who’ve fled violence and are seeking long-term financial independence.
“These women face a stark choice: stay in the violence, or leave and often end up in poverty. Many are stuck living paycheque to paycheque, often relying on government benefits that barely cover rent,” Greblo told B&T. “We wanted to build something different. Something that gives them not just stability, but a future.”
“A Bridge to a Thriving Mindset”
The program teaches hard skills, from CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot to prompt engineering and generative AI tools like ChatGPT, but it also acknowledges that survivors need more than just software training.
“We’re not just polishing up a CV and sending someone to an interview,” Greblo said. “Job readiness for our participants looks completely different. We talk about walking them over a bridge, from a victim and trauma mindset to a thriving mindset and growth.”
To do that, the Academy includes a trauma-informed virtual community with weekly masterclasses in financial literacy, nervous system regulation, confidence building and healing – just to name a few. “It’s a whole-of-person approach,” Greblo explained. “And we’ve seen the impacts multiply the longer women stay engaged.”
Among the most telling results include a reported a 122 per cent increase in participants’ sense of belonging, a 105 per cent increase in feelings of safety, and a 64 per cent boost in wellbeing. Financially, graduates of the program earn 30 per cent more than they did previously, an average increase of $600 per fortnight more, often in flexible, part-time roles.
One woman, who Greblo shared some information on, celebrated her two-year anniversary at Humans of Purpose recently, her first job ever. “She’s thriving,” said Greblo. “And she’s not alone.”
Rewriting Stereotypes
The survivors come from all different backgrounds, far beyond what stereotypes might have you expect. They aren’t limited to any one social class, profession or lifestyle. Instead, they include people from every corner of society, reflecting a broad and diverse range of experiences.
“There’s still a stereotype that survivors are from a particular socioeconomic group,” said Greblo. “But we’ve had dentists. Engineers. Women who’ve never disclosed their abuse before. The more we share our story, the more women quietly say, ‘Me too.’ And they’re CEOs. They’re IT project managers. It’s everywhere.”
That insight has reshaped Greblo’s pitch to potential employers. “These women aren’t charity cases. They’re resilient, committed, resourceful, and, with the right technical skills, they have everything you’d want in a digital employee,” she said.
And for companies looking to recruit flexible, remote-capable staff, this untapped talent pool is exactly what the sector needs. “Businesses can’t afford to give someone a job just to give them a go, but they don’t have to. These women are genuinely capable talent,” she added.
The Economic Argument
Humans of Purpose’s new insight paper supports this with broader economic data. A recent RMIT and Deloitte report found that reskilling just 137,300 women into tech roles could unlock $4.3 billion in wage gains and deliver $6.5 billion in annual economic benefit for businesses.
Greblo called it “one of the greatest economic and social opportunities of our generation.”
And the impact goes far beyond individual income. “84 per cent of the women we work with are single mums,” said Greblo. “When we help a woman thrive in her career, we’re also helping her raise children in a safer, more stable home and hopefully breaking intergenerational cycles of abuse and trauma”.
Each woman placed in work also saves the government an average $6,136 in reduced welfare dependence.
One case study that embodies the model’s impact is Sarah, a mother of three from Sydney’s west, now pregnant with her fourth. After escaping an abusive marriage, she never thought she’d find a job, let alone a well-paid career in digital tech.
“She’s now financially independent, has a career path, and is able to support her children without relying on unstable or unsafe housing,” said Greblo. “It’s truly life-changing.”
A Call for Investment
To scale their impact, Humans of Purpose is seeking $2 million in capital from philanthropists and patient investors.
“It’s not a hockey-stick-growth, VC-packaged business,” Greblo acknowledged. “But it’s commercially sound and impact-driven. Investment means we can help more women, faster.”
The funds will go towards expanding the team, including business development, client services, and training roles, and increasing marketing capacity. “We’ve got a great top-of-funnel. We just need the resources to convert,” she said.
Their long-term goal? To train and place 10,000 women and expand into new markets.
“In five years, I’d love to see us in places like Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands markets where domestic violence is compounded by climate change,” said Greblo. “Digital and social media services are needed everywhere, and our model can adapt.”
For Greblo, it’s about rewriting the narrative around survivors.
“We want these women to have highly skilled and highly paid careers. It’s about lifting our gaze and looking beyond what can help them day to day. This is about creating careers they thrive in and long-term financial independence”.
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