“My mom had been told if she gave birth to a daughter, it wasn’t worth phoning home about. After all, she’d already given birth to my older sister,” the comedian said
YouTuber, comedian and TV show host Lilly Singh gained popularity for her hilarious take on South Asian culture, relationships and food. A staunch believer of equal rights, fair wage, women empowerment and South Asian visibility in global media, Singh’s impassioned speeches leave a lot to think about.
As such, take a look at a TED Talk where she argued that women and girls are conditioned to believe success is “a seat at the table.” The 33-year-old believes there should be a bigger, more inclusive table.
Singh mentioned that there were no celebrations in her hometown in India when she was born, the youngest of two sisters.
“You see, because my mom had been told that if she gave birth to a daughter, it wasn’t worth phoning home about. After all, she’d already given birth to my older sister, and this time everyone had high hopes that she would do right and have a son.”
The comedian went on to explain the kind of discrimination she faced while growing up. She clarified how she landed a late night television show, and the kind of hard work that went into it.
“I learned very quickly that whenever I spoke of money, people got a little uncomfortable. Like the time I pointed out the gender gap in the Forbes list for online creators, a list I’d previously been on. I remember wanting to start a critical conversation because I saw this article and I was heartbroken.”
She made crucial points as she called on people in the audience to stand by her and work towards building inclusive spaces for women and giving them the right to exist with pride and freedom.
“A woman’s seat shouldn’t be threatened if she doesn’t seem ‘grateful’ enough. In other words, corporations, this step involves a woman doing a job and being paid in money, opportunity and promotion, not just gratitude.”
“And let me lead by example right now and say, I know there’s many other women that are going to come on this stage, and I hope they all nail it, and I will be cheering you all on because we can all win. And I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader when you’re up here.”
Article Credits: The India Express