This study examines Iranian handwoven carpet-making as a cultural–economic “text” and provides an interdisciplinary account of how women’s position has transformed from tradition to modernity. Despite women’s central roles in production, design, knowledge transmission, and the preservation of ethnic identity, comprehensive cross-disciplinary research on this long-term transformation remains limited. The study aims to explain women’s shift from “passive custodians of heritage” to active agents of innovation and independent entrepreneurship. A mixed-method, three-stage design was employed: (1) a systematic review of authoritative Persian-language sources following the PRISMA protocol (2001–2025), yielding 55 selected references; (2) semiotic–iconographic analysis of 12 historical carpets spanning the Qajar era to the contemporary period, using Peirce’s triadic model alongside Panofsky’s iconology; and (3) qualitative thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 women weavers, designers, and entrepreneurs from diverse regions of Iran, selected for maximum variation in age, work experience, and education. Trustworthiness was established using Creswell’s approach, and inter-coder agreement was confirmed (mean coefficient = 0.85). Findings indicate a profound three-dimensional transformation. Culturally, women have moved from reproducing fertility symbolism in the Qajar period to becoming active innovators and feminist re-interpreters of motifs in the contemporary era. Socially, the trajectory shows a shift from domestic marginalization to individual and collective leadership, robust networking, and full autonomy. Economically, women have transitioned from concealed supplementary income to financial independence through successful cooperatives, disintermediation (reducing intermediaries), and independent entrepreneurship. Overall, the results suggest that Iranian women in carpet-making are not merely heritage keepers; they have become pioneers of innovation, redefinitions of gendered identity, and collective empowerment. Handwoven carpets thus emerge as one of the richest visual archives of gender history and a medium through which power is transferred from patriarchal structures to women’s active agency.