Gabriele Dietrich, born in Berlin, Germany, started her life in India with a research project on Religion and People's Organisation at the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society. She has been teaching Social Analysis at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai since 1975.

She has been deeply involved with women's movements especially among slum dwellers and workers in the unorganised sector including fisheries.

She has also been working intensely with National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM). She has published widely on women's movements, organisational questions, ecology, communalism and culture. She is an Indian citizen.