Lakshmi Ramarajan

Lakshmi Ramarajan is an Assistant Professor in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. Her research examines the management and consequences of identities in organizations.

Lakshmi's research examines how people can work fruitfully across social divides, with a particular emphasis on identities, group boundaries and intergroup relations. Her research asks two broad questions related to bridging differences across multiple identities and group boundaries: 1) What are the effects of managing multiple identities on interpersonal and intergroup relations? and 2) How do organizational and intergroup boundaries influence individuals’ multiple identities and intergroup relationships? In recent work she examines how individuals’ manage their organizational, ethnic, religious and national identities, and how these identities interact to influence interpersonal problem solving and prosocial attitudes and behavior.

Lakshmi earned her B.A. (Honors) in International Relations from Wellesley College, her M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her PhD in Management from The Wharton School of Business. She was awarded the State Farm Foundation Dissertation Proposal Award in 2008. She was a Post Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Business School from 2008 to 2010.

Prior to her academic career, Lakshmi worked in international development, managing conflict resolution programs in West Africa with a focus on gender and workforce development. She was also a professional dancer for several years.