A Seat At The Table By Lilly Singh Is Not The Solution For Gender Equality

Lilly Singh is a Canadian-Indian Youtuber, writer, television host, actress, and comedian who rose to fame after creating youtube videos in 2010 under the name Superwoman/ IISuperwomanII. In 2022 Singh delivered a Ted Talk titled “A Seat at the Table” Isn't the Solution for Gender Equity. Singh discusses that in order to achieve gender equality and a more inclusive society we need to create tables where women can voice their opinion and concerns, while being valued and empowered. She began by telling a personal story of being born a female and highlighting the deep-rooted biases and expectations of women prevalent in society. Throughout the talk, Singh addresses the impact of cultural beliefs and societal norms on women, and the current tables,

She first argues against weaponizing gratitude, and women should not be expected to be grateful for simply being given a seat by saying “Although gratitude feels warm and fuzzy, it's not a form of currency”(Singh 12:53-12:56). She continues to support this argument by acknowledging the additional workload and unacknowledged tasks most often assigned to women, which hinder their progress and professional growth. To end her argument she states “And a woman's seat shouldn't be threatened if she doesn't seem ‘grateful’ enough”(Singh 13:33). This concludes her argument by pointing out that when a woman gets the power and influence associated with a seat at the table it should not be in jeopardy because they are not grateful for finally getting a seat at a table “Especially ones she largely helped build” (Singh 13:29)

In her opening statement to this point she says “for every three men at a table, there's only one place setting for a woman”(Singh 15:29-15:32), she points out that there isn’t space for a woman yet due to unequal gender opportunities. Singh’s decision to debunk the scarcity mindset and advocate for support and collaboration, challenges the notion that women must compete against each other for opportunities, stating there need to be more seats for women. Additionally Singh states references a study saying that corporations with greater gender diversity in their executive teams saw a 25% increase in profitability, while racially diverse companies experienced a 36% boost in