Salo was born in 1962 in
Kimberley, South Africa, grew up under
apartheid. She was a "token" black student in an otherwise
White-majority university: the university was located in a
White Group Area. Having been awarded a scholarship, she studied
international development at
Clark University in Massachusetts, United States: she graduated with a
Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1986. Also with a scholarship, she studied anthropology at
Emory University in Georgia, United States, graduating with a
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2004: her
doctoral thesis concerned gendered roles in the
Manenberg Township of Cape Town, South Africa. ==Academic career==