Jeanette Schwerin (born Jeannette Abarbanell; 21 November 1852 – 14 July 1899) was a German women's rights activist and a social work pioneer.

Hungry for learning, after a year, on the recommendation of a teacher, she removed herself from school and educated herself using a self-developed approach that involved extracting, interpreting and commenting on texts.

She never lost her appetite for autodidactic education, and was able to deepen her knowledge of History, Philosophy and Applied Economics ("Nationalökonomie") with study at Berlin University.

[2] Schwerin teamed up with Minna Cauer in 1893 to establish the "Girls' and Women's Group for Social Work" ("Mädchen- und Frauengruppen für soziale Hilfsarbeit").

She was initially uncertain about the direction the group might take, warning fellow members to avoid "dangerous dilettantism" and giving her own maxim as "not good works but welfare" ("nicht Wohltätigkeit, sondern Wohlfahrt").