She worked at the Natural History Museum and received an OBE in 1961.

She attended Keith Grammar School before going to the University of Aberdeen in 1918.

In 1923 she was awarded the Kilgour Research Scholarship and studied alcyonaria.

In 1928 she received a DSc from the University of Aberdeen.

She returned to the UK and in November 1928 took up the position of Assistant Keeper (2nd class) with responsibility for the Crustacea Section.

In 1937 the Crustacea Section was split into two parts; J.P. Harding took over entomostraca while Gordon managed malacostraca as Principal Scientific Officer.

In 1960 she became one of the original members of the Editorial Board of the peer reviewed journal Crustaceana.

In April 1961 on the occasion of Emperor Hirohito's 60th birthday Gordon was invited to spend several weeks in Japan under the sponsorship of the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.

In 1958 she published a review of Siewing's 'Anatomie und Histologie von Thermosbaena mirabilis' under the title 'A thermophilous shrimp from Tunisia'.

She retired from the Natural History Museum in 1966 and retained a room in the Crustacea Section which she shared with Dr Sidnie Manton, and continued to work in the Museum until about 1971.

In 1983 she suffered a stroke which left her partially paralysed.

In 1987 she moved from London to live with the family of her nephew Dr John Gordon in Carlisle.

Her health deteriorated after a cataract operation in March 1988 and she died on 11 May 1988.