<![CDATA[Gender inequality in the workplace persists, reflected in wage gaps, domestic role stereotypes, and patriarchal biases that limit women's career opportunities. In East Java, women's participation in the formal labor force reached only 36.32 percent in 2024, compared with 45.81 percent for men. This study addresses three research questions: (1) how do female workers in East Java understand empowerment in the context of work; (2) what forms of inequality and oppression do they experience and perceive; and (3) what strategies do they use to survive and thrive in the workplace. The study employs an interpretive phenomenological design with a bottom-up perspective that positions the narratives of female workers as the main subject of analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth online interviews with 20 female workers aged 25–35 from Jember, Malang, Surabaya, and Sidoarjo between May and June 2025, and analyzed following Widodo's (2014) analytical steps. The findings show that oppression is not always physically visible but appears as microaggressions, implicit bias, double standards, maternal bias, and unequal pay for equivalent positions. Norms once regarded as natural came to be questioned through critical awareness, which fostered individual agency and collective solidarity, such as forming women's groups and demanding gender equality training and paternity leave. This study emphasizes that genuine empowerment is not only a matter of economic access but also of structural and cultural transformation toward gender equality.]]>
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