She has a PhD from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana), USA. She has won prestigious awards in the academic field and has extensive experience as a lecturer and has numerous national and international publications in the areas of gender and South African politics. Professor Gouws was a member of the Gender Equity Task team in the Office of the Minister of Education and a Founder member and Convener of the Gender Caucus of the South African Political Science Association.