Yana van der Meulen Rodgers

Yana van der Meulen Rodgers is a Dutch-born American economist and Professor and Chair in the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University's School of Management and Labor Relations. Her research and public commentary focus on labor studies, feminist economics, development economics, and health.

Rodgers served as faculty director of Rutgers' Center for Women and Work from 2018 to 2024 and has held editorial roles with Feminist Economics, World Development, and Gender, Work & Organization. She was president of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) in 2013–14.

Education Rodgers earned a B.A. in economics from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

Contributions and public engagement

Rodgers' academic and policy work frequently addresses the intersection of gender, labor markets, and health. She has commented on women's financial well‑being and caregiving responsibilities, and on macro‑labor trends affecting women's access to high‑paying jobs. She has also written on the estimated macroeconomic effects of post‑Dobbs abortion restrictions and the global implications of U.S. reproductive health policy. She has been quoted or featured as an expert by national and international outlets, including NPR's Marketplace, the Washington Post, Mother Jones, and Business Insider. . She also conducted a live call‑in interview on C‑SPAN's Washington Journal on the pandemic's impact on women in the workforce and gave testimony at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on low‑wage women workers.

In 2024, the American Economic Association's Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Economics Profession awarded Rodgers and Travis Campbell the Outstanding Research Paper in LGBTQ+ Economics for their article on conversion therapy and transgender youth.