Dr Natalie Galea (BA; BBCM (Hons); PhD, UNSW) is a Senior Lecturer and Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Fellow in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School, and an Affiliate of the Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work.

Her research advances gender justice, worker wellbeing, and structural reform in male-dominated sectors, with a focus on the Australian construction industry. She has led award-winning, industry-backed projects on gender equality, work schedules, flexibility, and parental leave, and is part of the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce Research Team. In 2024, she was awarded an ARC Fellowship to investigate resistance to gender equality in the sector.

In elite sport, Natalie examines athletes’ access to human rights, focusing on institutional responses to gender-based violence, reporting mechanisms, and redress.

A former construction project manager, she spent nearly two decades delivering major projects in Australia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

She is an Australian Olympian.

Read more from Natalie Galea:

Galea, N. and Chappell, L., (2021) Male dominated workplaces and the power of masculine privilege: a comparison of the Australian Political and Construction sectors. Gender, Work & Organization. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12639

Galea, N., Powell, A., Salignac, F., Chappell, L. and Loosemore, M., (2021). When following the rules is bad for wellbeing: The effects of gendered rules in the Australian construction industry. Work, Employment and Society, p.0950017020978914. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017020978914.

Galea, N., Powell, A., Chappell, L., & Loosemore, M. (2020), The gendered dimensions of informal institutions in the Australian construction industry. Gender, Work and Organizations. 27 (6), 1214-1231 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12458