Jody Heymann

Jody Heymann is a Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management, Public Policy, and Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), serving in the Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health. She previously held the Canadian Chair in Global Health and Social Policy at McGill University and founded the World Policy Analysis Center (WPAC), now based at UCLA.

Her education includes a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and an M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government. Her research focuses on global health policy, children and families, labor and employment, and poverty alleviation. She has authored over 200 publications and 15 books, including Changing Children’s Chances and Forgotten Families.

Dr. Heymann’s work bridges research and policy, advising governments and organizations like the WHO and UNICEF. She has pioneered comparative analyses of health and social policies across all 193 UN nations, examining how policies affect health equity globally. Her initiatives include studying maternal protection in the informal sector, paid leave disparities, and child marriage prevention.

Key contributions include the Global Working Families Project and the WPAC’s policy databases, which inform legislative reforms worldwide. Her advocacy emphasizes translating evidence into actionable policies to reduce structural inequalities in health and work environments.