[3] After matriculating at the Kingsridge High School for Girls in King William's Town, she studied law, politics, and philosophy at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.

[9] On 24 November 2020, Steenhuisen announced Gwarube's appointment as the DA's new national spokesperson, a position previously held jointly by Solly Malatsi and Refilwe Ntsheke.

In a heated contest to succeed Jacques Julius as deputy chief whip of the DA parliamentary caucus, Gwarube was victorious against Chris Hunsinger and Angel Khanyile.

[17][18] In an editorial, Mondli Makhanya of City Press remarked that, although she was "an articulate, confident MP and party spokesperson whose voice you cannot miss", Gwarube remained relatively inexperienced; he warned her to guard against "being set up to fail".

[17] Gwarube was re-elected to her parliamentary seat in the May 2024 general election, and she was a member of the four-member team that represented the DA during subsequent coalition negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC).

[21] In line with the coalition agreement reached between the DA and ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her as Minister of Basic Education.