Hayley Abrahams is a master’s research trainee in the Human Sciences Research Council’s Equitable Education and Economies division. She holds a BA honours degree in Geography from the University of the Western Cape and is currently a master’s student in the Environmental and Geographical Science Department at the University of Cape Town. Her work focuses on the intersections of gender, informal housing and urban inequality.

She is the strategic learning research assistant in the u'GOOD research programme, where she supports reflective learning processes at both the programmatic implementation and research levels. She also facilitates knowledge sharing and contributes to documentation and evaluation.

Previous and current experience and special projects
Abrahams contributes to all aspects of policy-oriented research as a research assistant. She has participated in urban governance research and community-based fieldwork where she co-facilitated participatory workshops using advocacy-based research methods.

Alongside her core roles, she has led and contributed to a range of projects, including guest editing a journal special issue on youth livelihoods, managing a qualitative research study on women in backyard dwellings and participating in international knowledge exchanges in São Paulo and Bogotá.

Across all her work, she brings a strong commitment to participatory, impact-driven research and continues to grow through structured training and capacity building.