Foxconn News / Is Foxconn not giving jobs to married women in India? Know what is the matter

Foxconn News: Apple Inc., one of the world's most prominent tech companies, has recently increased its iPhone production inside India. It is also working on a plan to start production of its other devices in India. In India, this work is done by its major supplier Foxconn. The news about Foxconn is that in India, it is rejecting the job applications of married women in its South India plant. What is this whole matter…

Reuters has said in its investigative report that in March 2023, two women named Parvati and Janaki go to Foxconn's factory for a job. Both are under 30 years of age. The guard at the factory gate asks them questions about their marriage and sends them back when they answer yes.

Parvati and Janaki did not believe it

When the agency questioned Parvati about this, she told that the autorickshaw driver who took them from the bus stand to the factory gate had also said that the company does not give jobs to married women. Both of them did not fully believe the autorickshaw driver. They still went there to give themselves a chance, but had to return empty handed.

Foxconn's attitude confirmed

When Reuters investigated this matter further, about 17 employees associated with Foxconn confirmed the company's attitude on the condition of anonymity. The agency has written, quoting Foxconn India's former Human Resources Executive S. Paul, that under a system, the company excludes married women from getting a job in its main iPhone assembly factory in India. The reason for this is that married women have more responsibilities than unmarried women.

S. Paul says that these rules related to recruitment are told verbally to the company's executives. Along with this, these are also passed on to the agencies hiring for the company. In this way, during the interview itself, if the women are married, they are excluded from the race to get a job.

Married women wear jewellery

S. Paul left Foxconn in August 2023 and started working in a consulting firm. He said that the reason for Foxconn not hiring married women is 'cultural' and 'social pressure' on them. In the view of the company, women face many problems after marriage, especially after marriage they have children. "

S. Paul's statement has also been supported by 17 other employees of Foxconn. More than a dozen of them have been associated with Foxconn's hiring agency. Foxconn HR sources cited family duties, pregnancy etc. as risk factors and said that is why the company hires married women in the plant near Chennai. Another reason is also the wearing of jewellery by married women, which can affect production.

Questions were raised on the company's policy in 2022 as well

This ban of Foxconn on hiring married women is not full-time. In this regard, quoting three former HR executives of the company, the news says that when the demand for production is high or when there is a shortage of labor, then this rule is relaxed. At the same time, many times the hiring agency also asks women to hide their marital status to get a job.

The agency had also questioned Apple and Foxconn in this regard in 2022. They had acknowledged this problem in their hiring policy and said that it would be fixed soon. However, the latest incidents are from 2023 and 2024.