This company refused to give jobs to married women in India.. then the government got strict and asked for a report

Foxconn Company, which operates Apple’s iPhone assembly plant in India, has taken a major turn in the matter of not giving jobs to married women in the factory. Taking cognizance of the report in this regard, the Central Government is strict on the matter and the Ministry of Labor and Employment has sought a full report from the Tamil Nadu Labor Department. This report has been summoned by the Ministry of Labor citing the Equal Remuneration Act.

Report summoned from state government

The Ministry of Labor said on Wednesday that it has taken note of several media reports claiming that married women are not being offered jobs at the Foxconn India Apple iPhone Plant in Tamil Nadu. The ministry has immediately sought a detailed report from the Labor Department of the Tamil Nadu government regarding the information shared in these reports. The notification issued by the ministry on Wednesday said that Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 clearly states that no discrimination should be made while recruiting male and female workers.

This entire case of Chennai plant in Tamil Nadu

The Ministry of Labor has clearly stated that the state government is the appropriate authority for the enforcement and administration of the provisions of this Act, so a detailed report has been sought from the state government. It is worth noting that on Tuesday, an investigation report by Reuters informed that Foxconn has excluded married women from jobs at its iPhone plant near Chennai. The company believes that married women have more family responsibilities than unmarried women, so the company does not want to give them work.

Mention of two married sisters

According to the Reuters report, Foxconn, which does assembly work for iPhone manufacturer Apple Inc., rejects the job applications of married women. This case of discrimination has come to light in the Chennai plant, which is contrary to the company’s publicly stated commitment to non-discriminatory recruitment. But, the investigation has revealed that such cases came to light in both Apple and Foxconn in 2023 and 2024.

This report mentions two sisters Parvati and Janaki, who are 20 years old. They had to face this discrimination in Foxconn’s iPhone factory in Chennai. Last year in March 2023, after seeing a job advertisement on WhatsApp, both these sisters reached this plant for an interview, but the security officer present at the main gate did not allow them to give the interview and sent them back from the gate itself. The report states that the officer had asked both of them, ‘Are you married?’ As soon as they answered yes, he asked both the married women to go back.

Such discrimination was confirmed in the investigation

According to Parvati, they were not given this job only because they are both married. Talking about this, she further said that many people there know about this matter and the driver of the auto in which both of them reached the factory for the interview had also warned them about Foxconn’s biased attitude towards married women and something similar happened. According to the report, former HR executive of Foxconn India S. Paul has also confirmed such a practice and said that Foxconn believes that married women pose a risk factor due to family responsibilities and possible pregnancy.

These claims of S Paul have also been supported by 17 employees and 4 current and former HR officials of various hiring agencies of Foxconn. He said that married women have more responsibilities than young women and they are kept away from the recruitment process so that the work is not affected.

What clarification did the companies give on the allegations?

However, after this investigative report, when Business Today contacted Apple to know whether they were aware of any such practice. So on this, the company said that we maintain the highest supply chain standards and are employing married women in India. At the same time, Foxconn has denied the allegations of employment discrimination. Both the companies highlighted their efforts to improve the hiring process and adhere to their respective codes of conduct, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status, gender and other factors.