Haley Swenson

Haley Swenson is the Senior Writer and Researcher for the Better Life Lab.

Swenson is an expert on the relationship between gender inequality at work and gender inequality at home and the intersections of gender, racial, and economic injustice. With Brigid Schulte, she helped create and now manages BLLx, a behavioral science–informed tool for helping families better share the load at home.

After earning a BA from Vanderbilt University, Swenson earned an MA and a PhD in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from The Ohio State University. Her dissertation was titled “Reproducing Inequality: Cooking, Cleaning, and Caring in the Austerity Age.” Swenson came to New America in 2017 as an ACLS/Mellon Public Fellow and was editor of the Better Life Lab’s 2018 partnership with Slate.

Swenson was the deputy director of the Better Life Lab from 2020 to 2022. She has led major research projects for the lab, including the Men and Care project and A Glimpse of Stability report and collection. Swenson has also directed several reporting grants and story series, editing and writing pieces that have appeared in The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, and Columbia Journalism Review.

Swenson is a storyteller and narrative change expert seeking to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and the fleshy, messy stuff of everyday life.