Ligia is a Psychologist (Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil), Ph.D. and has completed Masters in Social, Work and Organizational Psychology (University of Brasília, UnB, Brazil), with an internship at Loughborough University (UK). She is an Associate Professor at the Psychology Institute in Federal University of Uberlândia (Brazil). She is also leader of the Research Group "Working with Marias: Psychology, Career and Women", supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Brazil) and Member of the Brazilian Society of Organizational and Work Psychology (SBPOT) and the National Association for Research and Post-Graduate Studies in Psychology (ANPEPP).

She coordinates research and applied projects on women's career achievement and progression, women's leadership, women's barriers in male-dominated fields, gender biases, ambivalent sexism, motivation to lead, career-helping behaviors, career guidance programs, and mentoring for women. In the last 5 years, she has received research funding from the State of Minas Gerais Research Support Foundation (FAPEMIG) for the research project “Women in predominantly male careers: Career goals achievement and perception of barriers”, as well as from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, for the project “How to Foster Women's Careers in Technology: Testing the Impact of a Leadership Program”. She is interested in why women have difficulties entering, remaining and ascending in career, mainly in STEM fields, as well as the factors that contribute to the economic empowerment of women and the reduction of gender inequities. One of her biggest concerns is to make knowledge from academia accessible to all people and organizations.