Professor Mary Dean Lee finalist for the 2003 YWCA Woman of Distinction Award
Organized by the Women's Y Foundation of Montreal, the Women of Distinction Gala publicly recognizes exceptional Montreal women who have distinguished themselves by their personal or professional achievements, their social commitment and their contribution to the advancement of women. Professor Mary Dean Lee is a finalist in the Business and Professions category. The Women of Distinction Gala will be held on April 23, 2003.
Professional and managerial careers, the changing nature of work, work and family, and organizational learning are Dr. Lee's current research interests. She is currently co-leading, with Ellen Ernst Kossek of Michigan State University, a research project on "Managing Professionals in the 21st Century: The Evolution and Institutionalization of New Work Forms."
This is a follow-up study based on research carried out from 1996 to 1999 on reduced-load work arrangements among professionals and managers in 45 corporations across a variety of industries. The earlier study was co-investigated by Shelley MacDermid of Purdue University. The results of the study have now been reported in chapters in a number of edited books, such as The New World of Work and Gender, Work Stress & Health, as well as in articles published in Academy of Management Journal, Human Resource Management, and Journal of Management Development.
In addition, the findings from this project received a great deal of attention in the popular press and media, including American, Canadian and European newspapers. Dr. Lee was interviewed live on two national television networks in Canada and had an interview taped for a special program on NBC in New York. She was also featured on PBS radio and CBC radio across North America. She won the award at McGill University for the professor most quoted in the media in 1999. Dr. Lee has also studied part-time work among doctors, lawyers and accountants, and how women professionals combine career and family over their life span.