Foxconn has “systematically excluded” married women workers from its main India iPhone assembly plant near Chennai, reports Reuters.
Married women aren’t hired because they have babies and are more likely to be absent from work, said a former Foxconn India human resources executive.
Several hiring agencies and current and former Foxconn executives corroborated these were the reasons why married women weren’t hired at the Foxconn factory at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, some also said the jewellery worn by married Hindu women could interfere with production.
Three former Foxconn executives said the company lifted the ban on married women workers during high-production periods when there were labour shortages.
Indian law doesn’t bar employers from making hiring decisions based on the workers’ marital status.
Apple and Foxconn, however, have made it a policy not to practise such discrimination.
What Apple and Foxconn say
Apple said it upholds the “highest supply chain standards in the industry,” and noted that Foxconn employs some married women in India.
Foxconn stated it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form”.
Both companies acknowledged hiring lapses in 2022 but said they had addressed the issue. Reuters, however, reports discriminatory practices at the plant in 2023 and 2024.
Foxconn employs thousands of women in India.
The company offers workers food and accommodation and a monthly pay of about $200, which is in keeping with India’s per capita GDP.
Source: Reuters