Lauren A. Rivera

Lauren A. Rivera is an American professor of sociology and management at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She is best known for her research on the cultural and economic dynamics of the contemporary labor market for elite professional and managerial labor. Her book, Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs, critically examines how elite universities, students, and employers intersect.

Rivera was born in San Francisco and earned her bachelor's degree in sociology and Spanish from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her graduate studies continued at Harvard University's department of sociology, where she obtained her Ph.D. in 2003. Currently, she is a professor of sociology and management at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Rivera's research focuses on the cultural and economic dynamics of the detailed nature of the contemporary labor market for elite professional and managerial labor. Specifically, she studies inequities in the labor market based on race and gender, as well as how individuals make meaningful work through non-traditional career routes. Her groundbreaking research has been featured as a cover story of the national U.S. magazine, The Atlantic.

In 2014, Rivera’s book, Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs, was published. In her book, she examines the process of recruiting for elite employment through qualitative research, specifically observing the interview and hiring practices of 25 large U.S. employers across several industries. By drawing on over 250 in-depth interviews with employers, university administrators, consultants, and students, the book lifts the veil on the labor market for elite positions, illuminating how recruiters, parents, and students produce inequalities between themselves. This book shows how credentials, status, and networking remain essential part of the employment process in elite labor markets.

Most recently, Rivera’s focus has shifted to the ethics of interviewing. She is conducting research on how algorithmic interview platforms impact job seeker's lives. She believes that technology may help to level the playing field on who can access jobs, and how employers can become more aware of their own implicit biases in their candidate screening processes.

Lauren A. Rivera is an important figure in the sociology and management space, particularly in the elite labor market. With her book, Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs, she provides an in-depth exploration of the inequities in the labor market, and her recent work focuses on algorithmic interviewing, which is an integral part of the hiring process in the digital age. The insight and research conducted by Rivera makes her an invaluable asset in the interconnected world of business, technology, and society.