In a patriarchal social structure, women are structurally confined to the private domain of the household through the social norms that ideologically present that private domain as a space of freedom, where women are presumed to be safe and able to flourish. Therefore, women are allowed to earn an income only when such economic activity occurs within the perceived safety of the domestic space. This article discusses marginalized women jute workers in West Bengal, most of whom are engaged in home-based work. The purpose of this study is to investigate the intersectionality of gender roles, labour engagement, and social barriers. It also addresses the key challenges that female jute workers face and why most of the women jute workers prefer to work at home rather than outside the jute factory. This article seeks to explore whether women’s empowerment within a patriarchal cultural framework constitutes genuine empowerment or is a mechanism of exploitation and forced survival.