The Department of Psychology

Dr. Karen Lyness is a Professor in the psychology department at Baruch College, head of the doctoral program in industrial-organizational psychology and a coordinator of the new Master’s program (i.e., MALS track) in the Psychology of Work and Family at the Graduate Center, CUNY. She teaches courses on diversity in organizations, work-life (work-family) issues, careers, cross-cultural issues, and other topics in industrial-organizational psychology.

The quality and impact of Dr. Lyness’s research have been recognized with four major awards: Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Sage Award for Scholarly Contributions to Gender and Diversity in Organizations from the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the national Academy of Management, and Fellow of the Society for the Psychology of Women. She is a member of the Journal of Applied Psychology Editorial Board and a previous member of the Academy of Management Journal Editorial Board. Prior to joining the Baruch faculty, Dr. Lyness held a number of positions in management research and human resource management at Citigroup (Citibank), AT&T, and Avon Products. She earned a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology at Ohio State University.

Currently Dr. Lyness conducts research on women in management and leadership positions, work-life balance, “glass ceiling” barriers related to women’s advancement into executive positions, cross-cultural issues, racial and ethnic groups, organizational culture, managerial careers and development, and other issues related to workforce diversity. Examples of her current projects include studies of career issues for today’s multicultural workforce, funded by the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Foundation, and cross-cultural research about executive careers and work-life balance. Her research has been published in academic journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Human Relations, Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Sex Roles, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Four of her articles have been among the finalists for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research.

Dr. Lyness’s research has contributed to our knowledge about a wide range of issues, such as gender differences in career paths of executives and managers, cross-cultural comparisons of male and female managers’ work-life balance and careers, challenges for women in executive and leadership positions, career penalties for managers who take leaves of absence, supportive organizational work-family culture, and relationships of national culture to work-family issues. Findings from her research articles have been highlighted in publications such as Business Week, Across the Board: The Conference Board Magazine, American Psychological Association Monitor on Psychology, U.S. Banker, Working Woman, Boston Globe, Toronto Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Australian Financial Review.

Examples of Dr. Lyness’s publications (with student coauthors in bold):

Grotto, A. R., & Lyness, K. S. (2010). The costs of today's jobs:  Job characteristics and organizational supports as antecedents of negative spillover. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 395-405.

Lyness, K. S., & Judiesch, M. K. (2008). Can a manager have a life and a career? International and multisource perspectives on work-life balance and career advancement potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 789-805.

Lyness, K. S., & Kropf, M. B. (2007). Cultural values and potential nonresponse bias:  A multilevel examination of cross-national differences in mail survey response rates. Organizational Research Methods, 10, 210-224.

Lyness, K. S., & Heilman, M. E. (2006). When fit is fundamental:  Performance evaluations and promotions of upper-level female and male managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 777-785.

Lyness, K. S., & Schrader, C. A. (2006). Moving ahead or just moving? An examination of gender differences in senior corporate management appointments. Group & Organization Management, 31, 651-676.

Lyness, K. S., & Terrazas, J. M. B. (2006). Women in management:  An update on their progress and persistent challenges. In G. P. Hodgkinson & J. K. Ford (Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 267-294). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley.

Lyness, K. S., & Kropf, M. B. (2005). The relationships of national gender equality and organizational support with work-family balance:  A study of European managers. Human Relations, 58, 33-60.

Lyness, K. S., & Judiesch, M. K. (2001). Are female managers quitters?  The relationships of gender, promotions, and family leaves of absence to voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1167-1178.

Lyness, K. S., & Thompson, D. E. (2000). Climbing the corporate ladder:  Do female and male executives follow the same route? Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 86-101.

Judiesch, M. K., & Lyness, K. S. (1999). Left behind? The impact of leaves of absence on managers' career success. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 641-651.

Thompson, C. A., Beauvais, L. L., & Lyness, K. S. (1999). When work-family benefits are not enough:  The influence of work-family culture on benefit utilization, organizational attachment, and work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 392-415.

Lyness, K. S., & Thompson, D. E. (1997). Above the glass ceiling?  A comparison of matched samples of female and male executives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 359-375.

Examples of recent conference presentations with student coauthors (in bold):

Lyness, K. S., Eckert, R., Sywulak, L., Ruderman, M. N., & Gentry, W. A. (2012, April). Culture and managerial careers:  A study in five European countries. In K. S. Lyness & M. A. Shaffer, (Chairs), Careers Across Cultures:  International Experiences and Attitudes. Symposium to be conducted at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Lyness, K. S., Erkovan, H., & Rozga, K. (2012, April). Women's leadership performance versus perception as leaders:  A multilevel examination. Poster to be presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Ragins, B.R., Lyness, K.S., Ehrhardt, K., Murphy, D., & Capman, J.F. (2011, August). Can the Yin of Mentoring Counter the Yang of a Discriminatory Workplace? Relational Quality and Mentor Race as Potential Buffers to Workplace Discrimination. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management National Conference, San Antonio, Texas.

Lyness, K. S., Ragins, B. R., & Capman, J. F. (2010, April). Working on thin ice:  Race, diversity climate, and job insecurity. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Atlanta, GA.

Lyness, K. S., Ragins, B. R., Ivory, T., & Judiesch, M. K. (2008, April). Diversity and career planning:  Examination of racial and ethnic differences. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA.

Lyness, K. S., Grotto, A., Gornick, J. C., & Stone, P. (2008, February). Workplace flexibility in comparative perspective. Paper presented at the Eastern Sociological Society Conference, New York, NY.

She can be reached at Karen.Lyness@verizon.net

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