Gulshan Pashayeva graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in “Structural and Applied Linguistics” in 1983. In 1983-2001 she worked as a senior assistant, lecturer, senior lecturer and associate professor at the Department of "General Linguistics" of the Faculty of Philology of Baku State University. G.Pashayeva received her PhD in “Theory of Linguistics” in 1990.

From August to December 1995, G.Pashayeva participated in the international program "Partners in Conflict: Building Bridges to Peace in the Transcaucasus", implemented by the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) of the University of Maryland in College Park (USA). Upon her return to Azerbaijan, she founded the NGO “Conflict Research Center” in 1996 and headed it until 2001. G.Pashayeva also taught several courses at public and private universities in Azerbaijan on the topics of "Regional conflicts", "Negotiation process" and "Mediation". In 1998-1999, for 6 months, she conducted her postdoctoral research project devoted to conflict resolution technique and negotiation process at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (USA) as a Fulbright Scholar.

In 2001-2006 G.Pashayeva worked as National Programme Coordinator in Azerbaijan for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) regional project “Women for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in the South Caucasus”. She was employed as Public Information Associate in the Azerbaijani office of the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) in 2007-2009.

Since July 2009 Dr. Pashayeva has operated as a Head of Foreign Policy Analysis Department of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and was appointed the Deputy Director of this Center in January 2011.

She was promoted to the position of a senior consultant in the Office of the President of Republic of Azerbaijan in July 2018 and occupied this position until her appointment as a Board Member of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) in December 2019.

Dr. Gulshan Pashayeva specializes in conflict resolution, security research, gender issues and language policy. In 1996-2022 she participated in more than 120 conferences, seminars and trainings organized in various countries. She is the author of more than one hundred publications, co-editing three books, two of which have been published abroad (“EU Eastern Partnership Agenda: Common Framework or Greater Opportunities?” (2012), “Cooperation in Eurasia: Linking Identity, Security and development” (2016) and “Trapped between war and peace: The case of Nagorno-Karabakh” (2017)).

For fruitful participation in the socio-political life of the country, by Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated November 10, 2017, G.Pashayeva was awarded the Tereqqi (Progress) medal.

Gulshan Pashayeva was elected a member of the seventh convocation of Milli Majlis in the parliamentary elections of September 1,  2024.