Carolus became involved in politics while still at school and became an activist after joining the United Democratic Front in 1983.

In May 1990, Carolus was elected to be part of the African National Congress' delegation which held talks with the apartheid government and in July 1991, she was elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee.

She is also chairperson of Peotona Holdings, an investment company that deals with business development.

Carolus is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Crisis Group.

[2] On 5 May 2018, the bodies of her husband's (Graeme Bloch) parents were discovered in Cape Town.