Prof Paula McDonald
Professor Paula McDonald
SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Paula McDonald is Professor of Work and Organisation and Pro Vice Chancellor Research at QUT.
Paula has worked with organisations in the public, private and community sectors on inter-disciplinary, collaborative research which advances social justice in and beyond the workplace. Her expertise in work and organisation intersects with perspectives from labour law; youth, gender and media studies; labour geography; organisational psychology; and social policy.
Paula has been awarded 10 Australian Research Council grants including a Future Fellowship (2013-16); six as lead investigator. She has published 150 academic journal articles, books, chapters and industry reports and has undertaken many international and national consultancies, commercial research projects and advisory roles.
Paula’s fields of research expertise include:
• youth employment
• technology and work (digital platform work; automation and AI)
• vulnerable and disadvantaged worker groups
• customised/flexible work and public/private boundaries
• gendered dimensions of work (pay equality, sex discrimination)
Prior to an academic career, Paula held clinical and research roles in child and adolescent psychiatry, medical education, primary care and public health. She was elected to the Australian Academy of Social Sciences in 2021. Paula is a registered psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Agency since 2003, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a senior fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.