Carmel Shute grew up in Brooloo in the Gympie region of southern Queensland in the 1950s and 1960s, moving to Brisbane for university, where she became part of the inaugural editorial team of the inter-disciplinary women's liberation journal Hecate. In 1976, Shute moved to Melbourne for post-graduate studies, pursuing academic history. As a professional historian, Shute focused on 20th century Australian women's and political history and histories of World War I and II. She wrote academic journal articles and co-edited books, including Worth her salt: Women at work in Australia (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger), a product of the 1980 Melbourne Women and Labour Conference, which she co-convened. She taught history, politics and feminism/women's studies at four universities, including Latrobe University and the University of Queensland, and has been active in the National Tertiary Education Union. She also presented on the ABC's feminist program on Radio National, The Coming Out Show, in the 1980s and was a union organiser for the ABC staff association. Shute has been part of several feminist and left-wing activist groups and movements, particularly the women's liberation movement. She joined the Communist Party of Australia in Brisbane in 1974, writing for Tribune, the Party's organ, and remained a member until its dissolution in 1991, giving the closing remarks at the Party's final conference. She was also a member of the New Left Party founded in 1989 and has been active in the SEARCH Foundation and the Melbourne Labour History Society. Shute is also a feminist crime author and in 1991 co-founded Sisters in Crime, an Australian organisation which celebrates women's crime writing.