Maha Shehade Switat

Maha Shehade Switat is a postdoctoral fellow in the Sociology Department. She is a sociologist and ethnographer with a research focus on the mechanisms of inequality in legal processes and the labor market. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. Maha earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Haifa, where her dissertation explored the dynamics and interactions leading to settlements in labor legal processes and their impact on equality and justice, particularly among gender and ethnic minorities. She also holds an M.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Haifa University, where she examined the influence of ethnic identity on emotion management strategies in ethnically mixed workplaces among Palestinian citizens of Israel. Additionally, she earned dual B.A. degrees in Law and Communication from the University of Haifa.
Maha has teaching experience as an instructor for a course on ‘Law and Society’ and as a teaching assistant in qualitative research methods courses. Her research has been published in the prestigious Sociology journal.
For more than a decade, Maha has combined her academic career with practicing law. She has extensive experience advocating for workers' rights and promoting equality and social justice. She has also been an active member of statutory committees focused on Gender-Based Analysis of governmental plans and budgets, as well as promoting gender equality.