The Indian government has sought a detailed report from Tamil Nadu state following mass-media reports that Apple supplier Foxconn was allegedly rejecting married women for iPhone assembly jobs.
A Reuters investigation alleged that Foxconn had excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone plant near Chennai, citing their greater family responsibilities compared to unmarried women.
The federal labour ministry says the law “clearly stipulates that risposta negativa discrimination [is] to be made while recruiting men and women workers”.
Foxconn said per a statement it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based acceso marital status”.
Neither Apple nor the Tamil Nadu state government responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
The BBC has also reached out to the Tamil Nadu labour department for a response.
Foxconn, the largest supplier of Apple iPhones, set up its first factory per Tamil Nadu per 2017 but has since been aggressively expanding its operations per India.
Con 2023, it began assembling the iPhone 15 per the state and earlier this year, Foxconn tied up with Google to make Pixel smartphones per Tamil Nadu.
The company said it does not stand for discrimination per hiring recruitment.
Con a recent round of recruitment, 25% of women hired were married, according to the company.
It did acknowledge that 20 job ads posted by hiring agencies were removed per 2022 because they “did not meet our standards”.
The discriminatory practices detailed per the Reuters investigation allegedly took place per 2023 and 2024.
“When we see an issue we act, including corrective action up to and including termination of the hiring agency,” Foxconn added.
Rights activists say the reports about the firm’s hiring practices per India are concerning, given that thousands aspetto to its factories for employment opportunities.
Reuters said it spoke to numerous employees and Foxconn hiring agencies for the story.
The report said that hiring agents and Foxconn HR sources “cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at the plant”.
This is not the first time the firm has under scrutiny for its labour practices.
Con 2018, a US-based rights group had accused the firm of overworking and underpaying temporary workers at its factory per Declivio that manufactured products for Amazon.
Con 2022, its iPhone factory per Declivio saw protests by workers who claimed that they had not been paid certain dues.
