Author: Teo You Yenn
Genre: Non-fiction / Sociology / Social Issues
Ideal for: Readers curious about inequality in Singapore, social justice advocates, and anyone who wants to understand how policy impacts everyday lives.
When we think of Singapore, the images that often come to mind are gleaming skyscrapers, impeccable public transport, lush gardens, and a reputation as one of the wealthiest and most efficient nations in the world. It is a country often praised for its safety, prosperity, and progress. Yet beneath this polished surface lies a far more complicated reality—one that sociologist Teo You Yenn explores with clarity, compassion, and urgency in her book This Is What Inequality Looks Like.
This is not a dry academic tome filled with abstract theories. Instead, Teo gives us a deeply human account of inequality as it plays out in the everyday lives of Singaporeans. The book is as much about storytelling as it is about sociology. It forces us to pause, to look closer, and to ask ourselves uncomfortable questions about fairness, dignity, and what it means to live a good life.
Reading it feels a bit like having your lens cleaned—you suddenly see what was always there but hidden in plain sight. For me, it was a five-star read because it doesn’t just inform, it transforms the way you think about society.
The Premise
Teo You Yenn spent years conducting ethnographic research—meeting with and listening to families living in lower-income circumstances in Singapore. Rather than relying only on numbers and charts, she grounds her arguments in stories, conversations, and lived experiences.
Through these narratives, she explores how inequality is not simply about income gaps but about access, dignity, and opportunity. It’s about how systems are structured, the choices people are forced to make, and the assumptions society carries about poverty.
The book invites us to step into the kitchens, living rooms, and workplaces of ordinary people and to see inequality not as an abstract statistic but as a lived reality.
What Makes It Shine
The brilliance of this book lies in its accessibility. Teo writes with warmth and clarity, avoiding jargon and academic detachment. She speaks to readers not as a distant scholar, but as someone genuinely invested in making society more just.
She weaves together personal stories and broader analysis seamlessly. For instance, when she describes how a parent has to choose between paying for a child’s school supplies or household bills, she doesn’t just stop at the emotional weight of that decision. She connects it to structural issues: the cost of living, educational expectations, and the lack of safety nets.
This ability to zoom in and out—to show us the micro and the macro—makes the book incredibly powerful.
Themes That Resonate
1. Dignity in Everyday Life
One of the most striking insights from Teo’s research is how inequality isn’t only about material deprivation. It’s about dignity. For example, families often speak about the shame of not being able to provide what society considers “normal.” Whether it’s celebrating a birthday with a cake or paying for school enrichment classes, the inability to meet these expectations creates feelings of inadequacy.
2. Inequality as Structural, Not Personal
A recurring message in the book is that poverty and inequality are not simply the results of bad choices. They are outcomes of systems designed in ways that privilege some and disadvantage others. Teo challenges the “meritocracy” narrative, reminding us that starting points matter.
3. The Invisible Burden
Lower-income families often bear an invisible burden—navigating bureaucratic systems, juggling multiple jobs, or constantly budgeting for essentials. This mental and emotional labour is exhausting, yet invisible to those who do not experience it.
4. The Role of Policy
The book also makes clear that policies matter. Housing rules, education structures, and wage policies shape the daily realities of citizens. While Singapore prides itself on fairness and efficiency, Teo shows that these systems sometimes reinforce inequality rather than reduce it.
Why It’s a Five-Star Read
There are books that inform, and there are books that move you. This Is What Inequality Looks Like does both.
Firstly, it brings humanity back into the conversation about inequality. Too often, discussions are reduced to numbers, GDP, or percentages. But Teo insists on centering people—their hopes, struggles, and dignity. That alone makes it a transformative read.
Secondly, it’s courageous. Talking about inequality in Singapore can feel uncomfortable, even taboo. By writing this book, Teo opens up space for much-needed dialogue and challenges us to confront realities we might otherwise ignore.
Finally, it’s hopeful. While the book is clear-eyed about challenges, it also carries a strong sense of possibility. Change is possible—if we are willing to reimagine policies, systems, and our own roles in perpetuating inequality.
Who Should Read This Book?
Singaporeans who want to understand their society more deeply, beyond the surface of success. Students and educators looking for a resource that bridges academic insight with human storytelling. Policymakers and community leaders, because it offers not just critique but also a framework for empathy-driven change. Anyone interested in inequality globally, since the themes resonate far beyond Singapore.
What Stays With You
What lingers after finishing this book is not just facts, but faces. You remember the parent worrying about their child’s future, the worker juggling multiple jobs, the small joys people carve out despite hardship.
You also carry a new lens—suddenly more aware of how systems around us normalise inequality. The next time you hear about meritocracy, success, or the “Singapore dream,” you can’t help but ask: success for whom, and at what cost?
Final Thoughts
This Is What Inequality Looks Like is one of those rare books that changes not just what you know, but how you see. It’s sharp, empathetic, and unflinchingly honest. Teo You Yenn manages to take a complex subject and make it deeply human, deeply urgent, and deeply moving.
If we want to live in societies that are fairer and kinder, we need books like this—books that remind us that inequality is not abstract, but painfully real. And that the lives of those at the margins deserve not just our sympathy, but our solidarity.
A five-star read, through and through.
Highly recommended if you liked:
- Evicted by Matthew Desmond (for its ethnographic look at poverty)
- Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (for its sharp critique of low-wage labor)
- The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett (for its data-driven insights into inequality)
