Youngrong Lee, Phd

Lee, Youngrong (이영롱), PhD

I am Youngrong Lee, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, where I work closely with Dr. Erin Reid, as a member of the Work & Equality Lab. I am a sociologist specializing in work, gender, social inequalities, technology and labor movements. My research explores how workers understand, negotiate, and resist the shifting conditions of contemporary labor markets. Trained as a global ethnographer and comparative sociologist, I examine how global economic forces intersect with local organizational practices, workers’ intersectional identities, and forms of collective action.

I consider the gig economy a key site for examining contemporary issues of work, inequality, and resistance. My research investigates how the global gig economy—and the notion of the “ideal” gig worker it promotes—is constructed and contested among local workers, corporate actors, and unions in Toronto, Canada, and Seoul, South Korea. My work has appeared in Critical Sociology, the International Journal of Comparative Sociology, and other venues.

I recently completed my Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Toronto (2025). Prior to my doctoral studies, I earned an M.A. in Sociology from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Culture and Gender Studies from Yonsei University, and a B.A. in Social Science from Sungkonghoe University.

Outside academia, I enjoy cooking and hosting friends to share the meals I prepare. Also, I am an enthusiastic beginner swimmer and an avid squash player.

McMaster University recognizes and acknowledges that it is located on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations, and within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum agreement.