Gxowa started working as an office assistant in the South African Clothing Workers' Union where she took engaged in wage negotiations and gathered factory subscriptions.
[2] Gxowa was one of the founding members of the Federation of South African Women.
[3] She also was one of the organizers for the Women's March on the Union Building in 1956 which protested pass laws.
[2] Gxowa, along with Helen Joseph, traveled across South Africa to collect signatures on 20,000 petitions which were presented at the march.
[2] She was a member of the Home Affairs and Health Parliamentary Portfolio Committees in Parliament until 2004.