Woman explains why minorities in Singapore have to work harder

SINGAPORE: A young content Singaporean creator explained in a recent video how minorities in the city-state have to work harder than others.

In the first of a series she is calling “28 lessons before I turn 28,” Ms Rishitha, who goes by @devilwearsbata on TikTok and Instagram, spoke about having been the only minority at her workplace. She experienced how connections were harder as she didn’t get her colleagues’ internal jokes, and how meetings grew difficult when they began to speak in a language that she didn’t understand.

She thought that once she became a full-time content creator, things would get better.

“I thought I would be the boss of my own life until brands start viewing you as Indian first before Singaporean. It doesn’t matter if my content has good engagement or views, and it doesn’t matter if all races viewed my content. At the end of the day, I’m an Indian creator and not a Singaporean creator,” Ms Rishitha said.

Nevertheless, in spite of the obstacles in her way, she vowed to keep on pushing in the hopes that other minority content creators will have it easier in the future.

This is not unusual, as minorities in other countries have reported the same experience as Ms Rishitha’s, citing biases and disadvantages just because of their ethnicity or the colour of their skin.

For example, “You have to work twice as hard to get half as far,” or “you have to be twice as good to get half as much,” is a much-repeated proverb Black American parents have told their children.

Commenters on her post have expressed appreciation that Ms Rishitha said the quiet part out loud.

“Feel the exact same way. Thanks for speaking up about this!” wrote one TikTok user, while another added, “100 per cent true, everywhere we go.”

On Instagram, a commenter wrote, “Say it louder, sister. Let’s pave the way for the next generation of minority women, so they’ll have it a lot easier.” 

“YES. SAY THIS LOUDER. Good talent is good talent. We just need to learn how to identify good talent, the trick is they don’t always look like you (the hiring manager),” added another.

Ms Rishitha, who has been posting content since 2021, has found a considerable amount of success doing so. She has posted about various topics, such as the NOC saga, ghosts and hauntings, her mum, food, health, and travel. Some of her videos have gotten more than one million views, and she’s had paid partnerships with big brands, including Samsung. One of her videos, which was about the Asian Civilization Museum, reached over four million views. /TISG

Read also: “How do you survive being minority at work?” — 22yo woman surrounded by Chinese-speaking staff asks