Lena Simet
Lena Simet is a senior researcher and advocate on poverty and inequality at Human Rights Watch. Her research focuses on social protection, labor rights in non-standard forms of employment like the app-based gig economy, and how austerity-driven budget cuts and the privatization of basic essential services can undermine human rights. Lena is a member of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development's Steering Committee.
Before joining Human Rights Watch, Lena was the coordinator and lead researcher of the Global Urban Futures Project at The New School University in New York, focusing on inequality, jobless economic growth, and climate change. She taught in the New School's international affairs program and the economics department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She also worked as a consultant for non-governmental and international agencies, including UNDP, UN-Habitat, and GIZ. Lena is the author of the book "Cities and Economic Inequality in Latin America: Intra-Urban Inequality in Argentina" (Routledge, April 2022), and holds a PhD in Public and Urban Policy from The New School.
Articles Authored
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January 13, 2021
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November 23, 2020
From Pioneer to Laggard
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November 6, 2020
What Three US Ballot Results Mean for Poverty and Inequality
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October 26, 2020
Fault Lines Laid Bare
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October 15, 2020
Grocery App Workers' Rights Are Under Siege
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September 23, 2020
US Needs to Address Economic Hardship, Rights Impacts of Covid-19
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April 30, 2020
The Forgotten, Suffering Without Aid
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Reports Authored
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Nepal’s Social Protection System Reinforces Inequality
Expand the Child Grant; Include Informal Workers
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Lebanon: Rising Poverty, Hunger Amid Economic Crisis
Government and World Bank Should Invest in Rights-Based Social Protection
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Ukraine/Russia: As War Continues, Africa Food Crisis Looms
Provide Aid, Expand Social Protection to Prevent Hunger
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IMF/World Bank: Targeted Safety Net Programs Fall Short on Rights Protection
Spring Meetings Opportunity to Reset Approach for Universal Social Protection
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US: Failure to Pass Build Back Better Act Imperils Rights
Can Advance Economic Justice, Fix Broken Safety Net, But More Needed
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United States: Pandemic Impact on People in Poverty
Current System Leaves Needs Unmet; Lasting Reforms Needed