iPhone Supplier Foxconn ‘not Hiring Married Women’ in Tamil Nadu

India’s federal government has sought a “detailed report” from Tamil Nadu after it was reported that Apple supplier Foxconn allegedly rejected married women from iPhone assembly jobs.

The allegations are in relation to Foxconn’s iPhone plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

According to a Reuters investigation, the company systematically excluded married women from jobs because it claimed they would have greater family responsibilities as compared to unmarried women.

Pregnancy and a higher rate of absences were also cited as reasons.

One person was Priya Darshini, who received the news in a WhatsApp group chat, which is a recruiter from SS Enterprises, one of the hiring agencies.

In August 2023, Priya asked: “I have a baby. Are there childcare facilities? Could I bring my baby? Age is 2. Salary?”

The recruiter, T Balu, replied: “Married ‘not allowed’.”

During the investigation, Balu revealed Foxconn does not hire married women, who wear jewellery, because it wants to ensure a metal-free zone.

Priya is seeking help from friends and family to find a job that would allow her to care for her child.

While some hiring vendors do not mention marital status in their job ads, others are more blunt.

In an ad posted by a recruiter at Proodle, it stated:

“Job vacancy for only female… iPhone Manufacturing… Age: 19 to 30. Unmarried.”

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken “note of media reports on married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant”.

The ministry stated that the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 “clearly stipulates that no discrimination be made while recruiting men and women workers”.

Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and claimed that they had addressed the issue.

Foxconn went on to say that almost 25% of married women were recruited in its latest round of hiring.

It said:

“Foxconn’s first priority is the wellbeing of our employees around the world.”

“We hire workers of all backgrounds, genders, races and marital status, and we do not stand for discrimination in hiring or recruitment.

“Foxconn vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”

The company also said that married women were welcome to wear traditional metal jewellery while working in its plants.

Foxconn is the largest Apple iPhone supplier and set up its first plant in Tamil Nadu in 2017.

In 2018, the company was accused by an American rights group of underpaying temporary workers and making them overwork at its factory in China.

In 2021, Apple put Foxconn on “probation” after workers at the factory, which employs nearly 17,000 people, staged protests against poor living conditions that had led to several cases of food poisoning.