Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, has been declining to employ married women at its main iPhone assembly plant in India. The factory is situated in SRIPERUMBUDUR of TamilNadu. This has been revealed by Reuters in its report by PRAVEEN PARAMASIVAM, MUNSIF VENGATTIL and ADITYA KALRA published on 25th June. According to report Foxconn discriminates against married women by rejecting their job applications, because of their “greater family responsibilities compared to unmarried counterparts” as the reason. The hiring practice of the company contradicts the Indian law which explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender/marital status.
The report revealed that the Foxconn factory management quietly and systematically kept married women out from hiring process at its main iPhone assembly plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Factory establishment justified this by claiming that married women have “more issues post-marriage.”
As per the report, this was confirmed by many former and current employees including HR executives from over a dozen Foxconn hiring agencies across India, many of whom spoke to the news agency on the condition of anonymity.
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Hiring Agencies and Foxconn HR sources cited family duties, pregnancy, and higher absenteeism as reasons for not hiring married women at the plant. Additionally, many noted that the jewellery worn by married Hindu women could obstruct with production process/activities.
Foxconn’s exclusion of married women from its workforce at the iPhone assembly plant in India has raised concerns about the company’s recruitment policies and potential gender discrimination. In response, Foxconn and Apple stated that they had improved their hiring procedures in 2022. However, a Reuters investigation revealed that these discriminatory practices continued into 2023 and 2024
Three former Foxconn HR executives told Reuters that the Taiwan-headquartered manufacturer is relaxing its policy of not hiring married women during high-production periods when it faces labour shortages. In some cases, hiring agencies assist female candidates in concealing their marital status to secure jobs, Reuters found.
- Paul, a former human resources executive at Foxconn India, said that the hiring rules were verbally communicated by the company’s executives to its Indian hiring agencies.“Risk factors increase when you hire married women,” Paul told Reuters.
Foxconn typically avoids hiring married women due to “cultural issues” and societal pressures, explained Paul, who left the company in August 2023.
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