Katie Rainwater

Bio

I am a sociologist with interests in labor and development. I earned a PhD in Development Sociology from Cornell University and a MA in Southeast Asian Studies from National University of Singapore. Past research projects considered guestworker migration systems in Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia.  My current research project examines the history of public sector unions here in Florida. At FIU, I teach Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Gender, Research Methods, and Societies in the World.  I also assist with organizing events for the Global Indigeous Forum.

Selected Publications

2021.                “Building Inequality: Wage Disparity between Thai and Bangladeshi Guestworkers in Singapore”.Work, Employment and Society 35(3): 509-526.
2022.                “Thai Guestworker Export in Decline: The Rise and Fall of the Thailand-Taiwan Migration System” (First author with Lindy Williams). International Migration Review. 53 (2): 371-395.
2023.                “Gold Diggers and their Housewives: The Gendered Political Economy of Thai Labor Export to Saudi Arabia, 1975-1990”. Critical Asian Studies. 51 (4): 515 – 536