Foxconn reluctant to hire married women for TN plant

New Delhi: World-renowned tech company Apple is increasing its production in India. The company’s target is to manufacture 25 percent of total iPhones in India over the next 3-4 years. In India, the work of manufacturing iPhones for Apple is carried out by the Taiwanese company Foxconn. Recently, allegations have been made about Apple’s supplier Foxconn that they are refusing to employ “married women” at their plants. So why does Foxconn want to keep married women away from manufacturing iPhones?

According to an investigative report by Reuters news agency, in March 2023, two sisters named Parvati and Janaki went to apply for jobs at the Foxconn factory. Both are under 30 years old. A security officer at the factory gate stopped them and questioned them about their marital status and sent them back.

Later in an interview given to the agency, Parvati said, “Because we are married, we didn’t get the job…” She mentioned that an auto-rickshaw driver had taken them from the bus stand to the Foxconn factory. She also mentioned that “Foxconn doesn’t hire married women. Still, we thought of trying…”

The report cites a former HR executive of Foxconn, S. Paul, who wrote that the company systematically keeps married women away from jobs in their iPhone assembly plant. The reason is said to be the greater family responsibilities that married women have compared to unmarried women. He said that the company’s executives inform hiring agencies about these rules verbally. This way, married women are excluded from the race to find jobs during candidate searches and interviews.

Paul, who left Foxconn last year, says that Foxconn generally does not recruit married women due to ‘cultural issues’ and ‘social pressures’. The company believes that after marriage, women face various difficulties, including having children.

The authenticity of Paul’s statement is supported by 17 hiring agency employees and four current and former HR executives of Foxconn. Sources connected to the hiring agencies and Foxconn’s HR attribute family responsibilities, pregnancy, and absenteeism as reasons. They said that because of this, Foxconn does not recruit married women at its plant near Sriperumbudur, Chennai. Some people also cite wearing jewelry by women as a reason, which can affect production.

Although, the restriction on hiring married women is not absolute. Former employees of Foxconn say that when production pressure is high or there is a shortage of labor, rules against hiring married women are relaxed. In some cases, hiring agencies ask female candidates to hide their marital status to secure jobs.

Questions were raised by the news agency on discriminatory practices against married women to Apple and Foxconn. Both companies acknowledged flaws in the 2022 recruitment process and stated that steps were taken to address issues. However, the news agency reports cases from 2023 and 2024.