I remember telling my mum I wanted to work in the media as a presenter and her response was that I should rethink this career path. I was shocked but I understood her concerns; she viewed the media industry as too superficial. I think she was protecting me from rejection. Who could blame her? Why would she think it’s a possible career option for her Asian daughter when no one else who looks like me was on the forefront?

The first time I saw myself represented in the media was through the careers of three amazing women: burns survivor Katie Piper, who has had multiple surgeries and skin grafts like me; presenter Cerrie Burnell, who was born with only one hand; and Bree Walker, an American news anchor who has disfigured hands. They all gave me the boost, belief and confidence that I can be in this industry too. Looking back, it occurred to me my role models were all white women. Now I have my foot in the industry, I see that there are no mainstream female disabled presenters from an ethnic background on our screens.

Amber Sunner, who is a British-Indian journalist suffered two strokes which resulted in her voice being affected, recalled to Stylist how a journalism lecturer at a university open day stated that: “I shouldn’t even consider doing the course because of my health. I cried the whole journey home”. Like me, Sunner is happy that there are lots of conversations regarding diversity and amplifying voices from diverse backgrounds, especially from the peak of Black Lives Matter, but it’s important we include disabled voices too. She adds: “I think when we hear the word diversity a lot of people assume colour but there are intersectionality factors to consider such as disability, gender and class”.

Women of colour with disabilities are always left out of the conversation about diversity