Leila Patel

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Leila Patel, born 22 May 1952, is a professor of Social Development and Social Work at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. She earned a Diploma and Higher Diploma in Social Work from the University of the Western Cape in 1976 and 1977, followed by an MSW from Western Michigan University in 1979, and a PhD from the University of Witwatersrand in 1992.

Patel has played a key role in shaping South Africa's welfare policy after apartheid. Her research focuses on social welfare and development, with particular attention to social protection, gender and care, and children and youth.

She has received several awards, including the 2014 Distinguished Woman Scientist Award in Humanities and Social Sciences, and in 2015 was named the South African Research Chair in Welfare and Development by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. In the same year she also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of the Western Cape.

Patel has delivered notable lectures, such as the 2019 Dan Sanders Peace and Justice Lecture at the International Consortium for Social Development conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and the 2023 Shanti Khinduka Social Development Lecture at the ICSD conference in Gavle, Sweden, where she was also honored with the James Billups International Social Development Leadership Award.

She is widely recognized as an authority on South African welfare policy. Outside academia, Patel has served as Independent Non-Executive Director of Liberty Group Ltd since 2004 and was a Director from 2008 to 2012.