Her research focused on gender and power issues in prehistory, particularly in the Andean regions of Argentina and Peru.

[2] In 1972 Gero studied archaeology during a summer course in Oxford, excavating at an Iron Age site in Wiltshire.

[2] In 1974 Gero began graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with Martin Wobst,[3] gaining a Phd in Anthropology in 1983.

[5] In 1998 Gero was appointed Assistant Professor at American University in Washington, D.C., where she taught courses in archaeology, anthropology and women's studies.

[7][8][9] Throughout her career Gero was heavily involved in the World Archaeological Congress (WAC), serving as the senior North American representative from 1999–2008, organising WAC-5 in 2003, acting as Head Series Editor for the One World Book Series 2003-2008, and serving on the Standing Committee for Ethics from 2007.