She has previously worked as a senior researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Sarah completed her PhD in 2005 at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Department of Sociology. She has published in both local and international journals including Labour, Capital and Society, Transformation, and Journal of Southern African Studies. She has recently published a book entitled Eating from one Pot: Dynamics of Survival in poor South African households, Wits University Press.