Are you a married woman? If yes, there’s a probability that you may not get a job at Foxconn, a major Apple supplier. This conjecture is based on a Reuters investigation which revealed that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant.
Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. However, all the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai took place in 2023 and 2024. The companies didn’t address those instances.
Why did they exclude married women?
The decision was reportedly based on the grounds that married women have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
S. Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India, told Reuters, “Risk factors increase when you hire married women.”
Paul added that Foxconn typically doesn’t hire married women because of “cultural issues” and societal pressures.
The company’s view was that there were “many issues post-marriage,” Paul said. Among them: Women “have babies after marriage.”
Paul mentioned that he left the company in August 2023 for a better-paying role at a consulting firm.
Not just Paul, but 17 employees from over a dozen Foxconn hiring agencies in India and four current and former Foxconn human resources executives backed the claim.
Family duties, jewellery: What other sources cited as reasons
The agents and the Foxconn HR sources cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at the plant, located at Sriperumbudur, near the city of Chennai.
Many of them also said jewelry worn by married Hindu women could interfere with production.
Ban isn’t absolute
Reuters found that in some cases, hiring agencies help women candidates conceal their marital status to secure jobs.
Meanwhile, “a Taiwan-headquartered manufacturer relaxed the practice of not hiring married women during high-production periods when it sometimes faces labor shortages,” three former Foxconn HR executives said.
‘Foxconn employs some married women in India’
Apple denied reports of such discrimination at Foxconn factories and told Reuters it upholds the “highest supply chain standards in the industry”. It further noted that Foxconn employs some married women in India.
“When concerns about hiring practices were first raised in 2022, we immediately took action and worked with our supplier to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure that our high standards are upheld,” Apple said in a statement.
“All of our suppliers in India hire married women, including Foxconn.”
Meanwhile, Foxconn said in a statement it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Published: 26 Jun 2024, 07:31 PM IST