Saba Waheed is the research director of the Labor Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has nearly 20 years of research experience developing projects in partnership with community stakeholders. Her expertise includes the gig economy, the service industry, domestic work, and the sharing economy, including Lyft and Uber drivers.

With her team at the Labor Center, she coordinated the first-ever study of domestic work employers and conducted research on the impact of the pandemic on nail salon workers and owners. Previously, Waheed worked as the research director at DataCenter, where she co-developed “research justice,” a framework that aims to address structural inequities in research. Her research has informed campaigns and policies in San Francisco such as the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights and the Wage Theft Ordinance. 

Waheed is also a producer and writer. She co-produces Re:Work, a women-led radio show and podcast that breaks down social movements in an understandable way. 

She received a master’s in anthropology from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in English and religious studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Pronouns: she/her

Expertise: Young workers, Black workers, LGBTQ+ workers, gig economy, service industry, low-wage jobs, labor rights, wage theft, sharing economy, domestic work, Uber, Lyft

Location: Berkeley, Calif.

Email: swaheed@ucla.edu 

Twitter: @sabawaa

Instagram: @sabawa999

Heard on J.T. the LA Storyteller: “Episode 52 – Re:Work Radio, UCLA Labor Center”