Kathy Parkes is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. She earned an MA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford in 1962, an MSc in Ergonomics from Loughborough University in 1964, a PhD in Applied Psychology from Loughborough University in 1972, and an MSc in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oxford in 1978. Her academic career commenced with a series of appointments in the Department of Human Sciences at Loughborough University from 1964 to 1976, culminating in a tenured lectureship from 1970 to 1976. She held a Post-doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley from 1974 to 1975. From 1979 to 2014, Parkes served in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, progressing from Research Fellow to University Research Lecturer (1989-1999) and then Reader in Applied Psychology (1999-2014). She also held the IPIA Research Fellowship in Occupational Health at Green College, Oxford from 1987 to 1990, and was an Australian Psychological Society Visiting Fellow at the University of Queensland in 1997. At UWA, she was Adjunct Associate Professor from 2007 to 2019 and Senior Gledden Fellow in the School of Psychology from 2008 to 2009.

Parkes' research focuses on work conditions, psychosocial factors, stress, and health in organizational settings, with particular emphasis on mental health, sleep, fatigue, performance, human factors, accidents, and safety in high-hazard environments such as North Sea oil and gas installations, onshore plants, and fly-in fly-out (FIFO) operations in mining, oil and gas, and construction industries. Notable publications include 'Direct, indirect, and moderated paths linking work schedules to psychological distress among fly-in, fly-out workers' (Parkes, Fruhen, Parker, 2023, Work and Stress), 'A new look at compliance with work procedures: An engagement perspective' (Hu et al., 2018, Safety Science), 'Leader safety storytelling: A qualitative analysis of the attributes of effective safety storytelling and its outcomes' (Benetti et al., 2024, Safety Science), and 'The attributes of effective safety storytelling: measurement and conceptual advancement' (Benetti et al., 2025, Safety Science). She received the NATO Study Visit Award in 1968 and the Royal Society Travel Award in 1997. Parkes supervised 14 doctoral students and two MSc students at Oxford, served on the boards of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, British Journal of Health Psychology, and Journal of Applied Psychology, and has engaged in consultancy for the oil and gas industry since 2014, including collaborations on FIFO worker surveys at UWA.

Professional Email: kathy.parkes@uwa.edu.au