Apple supplier Foxconn routinely avoided hiring married women for Tamil Nadu's iPhone plant: Report

Foxconn, a key manufacturer of Apple devices, has been excluding married women from assembly jobs at its flagship smartphone plant in India, Reuters reported. This practice contradicts the codes of conduct for both companies

Team Asianet Newsable

First Published Jun 26, 2024, 2:50 PM IST | Last Updated Jun 26, 2024, 2:50 PM IST

Foxconn, a key manufacturer of Apple devices, has been excluding married women from assembly jobs at its flagship smartphone plant in India, Reuters reported. The codes of conduct for both firms, which expressly forbid discrimination based on marital status, are in conflict with this practice.

According to a June 25 Reuters investigative report, Foxconn discriminates against married women by rejecting their employment applications on the grounds that they have "greater family responsibilities compared to unmarried counterparts."

According to the report, married women were often denied employment possibilities at the smartphone manufacturer's primary iPhone assembly factory in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, which is close to Chennai. In order to defend this, the biggest contract electronics manufacturer in the world stated that married women experience "more issues post-marriage."

Many former and present employees from over a dozen Foxconn employment agencies throughout India, many of whom talked to the news agency on condition of anonymity, reportedly verified this. Agents 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 interfere with production.

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.

According to S. Paul, a former human resources official at Foxconn India, the company's leadership orally informed the employment agencies in India of the hiring policies. Due to "cultural issues" and social pressures, Foxconn generally avoids recruiting married women, according to Paul, who departed the business in August 2023 to take a more lucrative position with a consultancy firm. Paul went on to say that the corporation believed that women "have babies after marriage," among other "many issues post-marriage."

Apple and Foxconn, whose policies prohibit discrimination in hiring based on marital status, have denied these charges.

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